Novel immunogenic lipopeptides comprising t-helper and b-cell epitopes

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides synthetic immunogenic lipopeptide molecules comprising co-linear T-helper and B cell epitopes, and methods for their production and use in the generation of primary and secondary immune responses, and for the vaccination of animal subjects against particular antigens. More particularly, the present invention provides highly soluble lipopeptides wherein the lipid moiety is attached to the terminal side-chain group of an internal lysine or lysine analog, preferably to the terminal side-chain group of an internal diamino acid residue. Preferably the internal lysine or lysine analog is positioned between the T-helper epitope and the B cell epitope or within the T-helper epitope.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of immunology, andmore particularly to reagents for generating antibody and/or cellularresponses to a peptide immunogen, and methods for using said reagentsfor enhancing the immune response of a subject, or for the vaccinationof a subject. Even more specifically, the present invention relates tonovel lipopeptides having enhanced immunogenic activity, formulationsand vaccine compositions comprising said lipopeptides, such as, forexample, in combination with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier orexcipient, and to methods for making and using the formulations andvaccine compositions of the invention.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

1. General

This specification contains amino acid sequence information preparedusing Patentin Version 3.1, presented herein after the Abstract. Eachsequence is identified in the sequence listing by the numeric indicator<210> followed by the sequence identifier (e.g. <210>1, <210>2, etc).The length of each sequence and source organism are indicated byinformation provided in the numeric indicator fields <211> and <213>,respectively. Sequences referred to in the specification are defined bythe term “SEQ ID NO:”, followed by the sequence identifier (eg. SEQ IDNO: 1 refers to the sequence designated as <400>1).

As used herein the term “derived from” shall be taken to indicate that aspecified integer may be obtained from a particular source albeit notnecessarily directly from that source.

Throughout this specification, unless the context requires otherwise,the word “comprise”, or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”,will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated step or element orinteger or group of steps or elements or integers but not the exclusionof any other step or element or integer or group of elements orintegers.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention describedherein is susceptible to variations and modifications other than thosespecifically described. It is to be understood that the inventionincludes all such variations and modifications. The invention alsoincludes all of the steps, features, compositions and compounds referredto or indicated in this specification, individually or collectively, andany and all combinations or any two or more of said steps or features.

The present invention is not to be limited in scope by the specificexamples described herein. Functionally-equivalent products,compositions and methods are clearly within the scope of the invention,as described herein.

All the references cited in this application are specificallyincorporated by reference herein.

The present invention is performed without undue experimentation using,unless otherwise indicated, conventional techniques of molecularbiology, microbiology, virology, recombinant DNA technology, peptidesynthesis in solution, solid phase peptide synthesis, and immunology.Such procedures are described, for example, in the following texts thatare incorporated by reference:

-   1. Sambrook, Fritsch & Maniatis, Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory    Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, New York, Second Edition    (1989), whole of Vols I, II, and III;-   2. DNA Cloning: A Practical Approach, Vols. I and II (D. N. Glover,    ed., 1985), IRL Press, Oxford, whole of text;-   3. Oligonucleotide Synthesis: A Practical Approach (M. J. Gait,    ed., 1984) IRL Press, Oxford, whole of text, and particularly the    papers therein by Gait, pp 1-22; Atkinson et al., pp 35-81; Sproat    et al., pp 83-115; and Wu et al., pp 135-151;-   4. Nucleic Acid Hybridization: A Practical Approach (B. D. Hames    & S. J. Higgins, eds., 1985) IRL Press, Oxford, whole of text;-   5. Animal Cell Culture: Practical Approach, Third Edition    (John R. W. Masters, ed., 2000), ISBN 0199637970, whole of text;-   6. Immobilized Cells and Enzymes: A Practical Approach (1986) IRL    Press, Oxford, whole of text;-   7. Perbal, B., A Practical Guide to Molecular Cloning (1984);-   8. Methods In Enzymology (S. Colowick and N. Kaplan, eds., Academic    Press, Inc.), whole of series;-   9. J. F. Ramalho Ortigão, “The Chemistry of Peptide Synthesis” In:    Knowledge database of Access to Virtual Laboratory website    (Interactiva, Germany);-   10. Sakakibara, D., Teichman, J., Lien, E. Land Fenichel, R. L.    (1976). Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 73 336-342-   11. Merrifield, R. B. (1963). J. Am. Chem. Soc. 85, 2149-2154.-   12. Barany, G. and Merrifield, R. B. (1979) in The Peptides    (Gross, E. and Meienhofer, J. eds.), vol. 2, pp. 1-284, Academic    Press, New York.-   13. Wünsch, E., ed. (1974) Synthese von Peptiden in Houben-Weyls    Methoden der Organischen Chemie (Müler, E., ed.), vol. 15, 4th edn.,    Parts 1 and 2, Thieme, Stuttgart.-   14. Bodanszky, M. (1984) Principles of Peptide Synthesis,    Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg.-   15. Bodanszky, M. & Bodanszky, A. (1984) The Practice of Peptide    Synthesis, Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg.-   16. Bodanszky, M. (1985) Int J. Peptide Protein Res. 25, 449-474.-   17. Handbook of Experimental Immunology, Vols. I-IV (D. M. Weir    and C. C. Blackwell, eds., 1986, Blackwell Scientific Publications).

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

Immunotherapy or vaccination are attractive for the prophylaxis ortherapy of a wide range of disorders, such as, for example, certaininfectious diseases, or cancers. However, the application and success ofsuch treatments are limited in part by the poor immunogenicity of thetarget antigen. Many peptides, glycopeptides, lipids, lipopeptides,carbohydrates etc., are poorly immunogenic. Several techniques are usedto enhance the immune response of a subject to a peptide immunogen.

It is known to utilize an adjuvant formulation that is extrinsic to thepeptide immunogen (i.e. it is mixed with the immunogen prior to use),such as, for example, complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA), to enhance theimmune response of a subject to a peptide immunogen. However, many ofthe adjuvants currently available are too toxic for use in humans, orsimply ineffective. Moreover, adjuvants of this type require priorformulation with the peptide immunogen immediately beforeadministration, such formulations often having a low solubility or beinginsoluble.

Lipopeptides, wherein a lipid moiety that is known to act as an adjuvantis covalently coupled to a peptide immunogen, may be capable ofenhancing the immunogenicity of an otherwise weakly immunogenic peptidein the absence of an extrinsic adjuvant [Jung et al, Angew Chem, Int EdEngl 10, 872, (1985); Martinon et al, J Immunol 149, 3416, (1992);Toyokuni et al., J Am Chem Soc 116, 395, (1994); Deprez, et al, J MedChem 38, 459, (1995); and Sauzet et al., Vaccine 13, 1339, (1995);Benmohamed et al., Eur. J. Immunol. 27, 1242, (1997); Wiesmuller et al,Vaccine 7, 29, (1989); Nardin et al, Vaccine 16, 590, (1998);Benmohamed, et al. Vaccine 18, 2843, (2000); and Obert, et al., Vaccine16, 161, (1998)]. Suitable lipopeptides show none of the harmful sideeffects associated with adjuvant formulations, and both antibody andcellular responses have been observed against lipopeptides.

Several different fatty acids are known for use in lipid moieties.Exemplary fatty acids include, but are not limited to, palmitoyl,myristoyl, stearoyl and decanoyl groups or, more generally, any C₂ toC₃₀ saturated, monounsaturated, or polyunsaturated fatty acyl group isthought to be useful.

The lipoamino acid N-palmitoyl-S-[2,3-bis(palmitoyloxy)propyl]cysteine,also known as Pam₃Cys or Pam₃Cys-OH (Wiesmuller et al., Z. Physiol.Chem. 364 (1983), p 593), is a synthetic version of the N-terminalmoiety of Braun's lipoprotein that spans the inner and outer membranesof Gram negative bacteria. Pam₃Cys has the structure of Formula (I):

U.S. Pat. No. 5,700,910 to Metzger et al (Dec. 23, 1997) describesseveral N-acyl-S-(2-hydroxyalkyl)cysteines for use as intermediates inthe preparation of lipopeptides that are used as synthetic adjuvants, Blymphocyte stimulants, macrophage stimulants, or synthetic vaccines.Metzger et al. also teach the use of such compounds as intermediates inthe synthesis of Pam₃Cys-OH (Wiesmuller et al., Z. Physiol. Chem. 364, p593, 1983), and of lipopeptides that comprise this lipoamino acid or ananalog thereof at the N-terminus.

Pam₃Cys has been shown to be capable of stimulating virus-specificcytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses against influenza virus-infectedcells (Deres et al., Nature 342, 561, 1989) and to elicit protectiveantibodies against foot-and-mouth disease (Wiesmuller et al., Vaccine 7,29, 1989; U.S. Pat. No. 6,024,964 to Jung et al., Feb. 15, 2000) whencoupled to the appropriate epitopes.

Recently, Pam₂Cys (also known as dipalmitoyl-5-glyceryl-cysteine orS-[2,3-bis(palmitoyloxy)propyl]cysteine, an analogue of Pam₃Cys, hasbeen synthesised (Metzger, J. W., A. G. Beck-Sickinger, M. Loleit, M.Eckert, W. G. Bessler, and G. Jung. 1995. J Pept Sci 1:184.) and beenshown to correspond to the lipid moiety of MALP-2, amacrophage-activating lipopeptide isolated from mycoplasma (Sacht, G.,A. Marten, U. Deiters, R. Sussmuth, G. Jung, E. Wingender, and P. F.Muhlradt. 1998. Eur J Immunol 28:4207: Muhlradt, P. F., M. Kiess, H.Meyer, R. Sussmuth, and G. Jung. 1998. Infect Immun 66:4804: Muhlradt,P. F., M. Kiess, H. Meyer, R. Sussmuth, and G. Jung. 1997. J Exp Med185:1951). Pam₂Cys has the structure of Formula (II):

Pam₂Cys is reported to be a more potent stimulator of splenocytes andmacrophages than Pam₃Cys (Metzger et al, J Pept. Sci 1, 184, 1995;Muhlradt et al., J Exp Med 185, 1951, 1997; and Muhlradt et al., InfectImmun 66, 4804, 1998).

Generation of an antibody response against a given antigen requires thegeneration of a strong T helper cell response. Accordingly, it isdesirable to administer an antigen in conjunction with at least oneT-helper cell epitope (Vitiello et al, J. Clin. Invest. 95, 341-349,1995; Livingston et al, J. Immunol. 159, 1383-1392, 1997). However,because T helper cell responses are provided by CD4⁺ T-cells thatrecognize fragments of peptide antigens in context of MHC class IImolecules on the surface of antigen presenting cells (APCs), most of theprocessed forms of peptide antigens are only presented by one or a fewalleles of MHC haplotypes. This causes the T helper response to a givenantigenic peptide to be strictly under genetic control of an individual.

To avoid large genetic variation in the immune responses of a givenpopulation of individuals to an antigen, an antigen is administered inconjunction with a large protein having a range of T helper epitopes.

Alternatively, promiscuous or permissive T-helper epitope-containingpeptides are administered in conjunction with the antigen. Promiscuousor permissive T-helper epitope-containing peptides are presented in thecontext of a vast majority of MHC class II haplotypes, such that theyinduce strong CD4⁺ T helper responses in the majority of an outbredhuman population. Examples of promiscuous or permissive T-helperepitopes are tetanus toxoid peptide, Plasmodium falciparum pfg27,lactate dehydrogenase, and HIVgp120 (Contreas et al, Infect. Immun, 66,3579-3590, 1998; Gaudebout et al., J. A.I.D.S. Human Retrovirol 14,91-101, 1997; Kaumaya et al., J. Mol. Recog. 6, 81-94, 1993; and Fernand Good J. Immunol. 148, 907-913, 1992). Ghosh et al., Immunol 104,58-66, 2001 and International Patent Application No. PCT/AU00/00070 (WO00/46390) also describe T-helper epitopes from the fusion protein ofCanine Distemper Virus (CDV-F). Certain promiscuous T-helper epitopesinduce strong B cell responses to a given antigen, and can bypasscertain haplotype restricted immune responses (Kaumaya et al., J. Mol.Recog. 6, 81-94, 1993).

Routinely, a vaccine preparation will comprise a mixture of polypeptidescomprising the T-helper cell epitope and antigenic epitope, however itis also known to administer a single polypeptide comprising both theT-helper epitope and the antigenic epitope (eg. Ghosh and Jackson, Int.Immunol 11, 1103, 1999).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In work leading up to the present invention, the inventors sought toproduce highly immunogenic lipopeptides having a lipid moiety and apolypeptide moiety comprising both a T helper epitope and an antigenic Bcell epitope against which an immune response is desired. Thelipopeptides of the invention have the lipid moiety attached via theterminal side chain amino group of an internal lysine, or an internallysine analog such as, for example, ornithine, diaminopropionic acid, ordiaminobutyric acid, in the polypeptide moiety. This is distinct fromthe N-terminal attachments, or C-terminal attachments (Grass-Masse etal. Vaccine, 14, 375, 1996), described previously.

Accordingly, by positioning said one or more lysine residue(s) or lysineanalog residue(s) at predetermined locations within the polypeptideduring peptide synthesis, the attachment site of the lipid is readilyspecified. Thus, the positioning of the lipid moiety in the lipopeptideis targeted to enhance the utility of the end-product for vaccine oradjuvant formulations.

Surprisingly, the inventors have found that attachment of the lipidmoiety via the side-chain epsilon-amino group of an internal lysineresidue or the terminal side-chain group of an internal lysine analogresidue positioned between the amino acid sequences of the T helperepitope and the antigen, enhances the solubility of the lipopeptideproduct in many cases.

One advantage provided by the lipopeptides of the present invention isthat they are sufficiently immunogenic such that it is generally notnecessary to include an extrinsic adjuvant in vaccine formulationscomprising these lipopeptides.

The present invention clearly encompasses the attachment of a lipidmoiety via the epsilon-amino group of an internal lysine residue or theterminal side-chain group of an internal lysine analog residue presentin the amino acid sequence of the T helper epitope or the antigen, theonly requirement being that the lipid moiety is not attached to theN-terminus or the C-terminus of the peptide. As exemplified herein, theinventors have clearly shown that, for example, the lipid may beattached to the epsilon amino group of an internal lysine residue withinthe T-helper epitope without loss of the ability of the subjectlipopeptides in generating an immune response, compared to a lipopeptidewherein the lipid is added to the epsilon amino group of a lysinepositioned between the T-helper epitope and the B-cell epitope.

By “internal” means at a location other than the N-terminus or theC-terminus of a polypeptide comprising a T helper epitope and antigenicB cell epitope.

Preferably, the lipid moiety is attached to the peptide moiety via theepsilon amino group of a lysine residue or the terminal side-chain groupof an internal lysine analog residue positioned between the amino acidsequences of the T helper epitope and the antigenic B cell epitope

As will be known to the skilled person, solubility of an antigen ishighly desirable for producing vaccine formulations on a commercialbasis. In this respect, the inventors have found that the most effectivelipopeptides of the invention are highly soluble. The relative abilityof the lipopeptides of the invention to induce an antibody response inthe absence of external adjuvant was reflected by their ability toupregulate the surface expression of MHC class II molecules on immaturedendritic cells (DC).

As exemplified herein, the structure of the lipid moiety is notessential to activity of the resulting lipopeptide, as lipid moietiescomprising palmitic acid, lauric acid, stearic acid or octanoic acid canbe used without loss of immunogenicity. Accordingly, the presentinvention is not to be limited by the structure of the lipid moiety,unless specified otherwise, or the context requires otherwise.

Similarly, the addition of multiple lipid moieties to the peptidemoiety, although generally not required, is also encompassed by theinvention, unless specified otherwise or the context requires otherwise.As exemplified herein, the addition of multiple lipid moieties to thepeptide moiety, such as, for example, to a position within the T-helperepitope, and to a position between the T-helper epitope and the B-cellepitope, does not adversely affect the ability of the lipopeptide tostimulate IgG production compared to a peptide having only a singlelipid moiety attached.

It will be apparent from the preceding that the polypeptide issynthesized conveniently as a single amino acid chain, thereby requiringno post-synthesis modification to incorporate both epitopes.

Optionally, an amino acid spacer is added at either side of the internallysine or lysine analog to which the lipid moiety is to be attached,such as, for example, between the T-helper and B-cell epitopes.

As exemplified herein, the present inventors produced the lipopeptide ofthe invention by coupling the lipid moiety to an exposed epsilon-aminogroup of an internal lysine residue positioned between the T-helper andB-cell epitopes in the synthetic peptide moiety, with or without aspacer. Particularly preferred spacers in this context consist of serinedimers, trimers, teramers, etc.

A spacer of any conventional type can also be added between the lipidmoiety and the polypeptide moiety. Particularly preferred spacers inthis context consist of arginine or serine dimers, trimers, teramers,etc. Alternatively, a 6-aminohexanoic acid spacer can be used.

Alternative spacers are also contemplated. For example, a spacer may beadded to the exposed epsilon amino group of an internal lysine or to theterminal side-chain group of an internal lysine analog before additionof the lipid moiety.

Alternatively, a lipoamino acid of Formula (III) or (IV) may be addeddirectly to the epsilon amino group of the internal lysine residue or tothe terminal side-chain group of the internal lysine analog.

Also exemplified herein, the lipopeptide of the present inventioninduces the production of a high titer antibody against the B cellepitope moiety when administered to an animal subject, without anyrequirement for an adjuvant to achieve a similar antibody titer. Thisutility is supported by the enhanced maturation of dendritic cellsfollowing administration of the subject lipopeptides (i.e. enhancedantigen presentation compared to lipopeptides having N-terminallycoupled lipid).

Also exemplified herein, a lipopeptide of the present inventioncomprising an antigenic B cell epitope of LHRH is capable of inducinginfertility in a mouse model representative of other mammals in whichinfertility is to be induced. The sustained production of antibodiesagainst LHRH achieved by the lipopeptides of the invention demonstratesthe general utility of the subject lipopeptides in inducing humoralimmunity and as an active agent in a vaccine preparation.

Also exemplified herein, a lipopeptide of the present inventioncomprising an antigenic B cell epitope of the M protein of Group AStreptococcus (herein “GAS”) is capable of inducing protection in amouse model representative of humans and other mammals in whichvaccination against GAS is indicated. The data provided herein indicatethat the lipopeptides of the present invention are capable of inducing asustained production of antibodies against GAS (both serum IgG, andsalivary and faecal IgA), and the opsonization of GAS, and the survivalof animals against a subsequent GAS challenge. These data demonstratethe general utility of the subject lipopeptides in inducing humoralimmunity and as an active agent in a vaccine preparation against GAS.

Also exemplified herein, a lipopeptide of the present inventioncomprising an antigenic B cell epitope of gastrin (“pentagastrin”) iscapable of inducing the sustained production of antibodies againstgastrin and/or cholecystekinin in a mouse model of other mammals inwhich inhibition of gastric acid secretion is indicated. The dataprovided herein demonstrate the general utility of the subjectlipopeptides in inducing humoral immunity against gastrin andimmunoneutralization of gastrin, to thereby block secretion of gastricacid, in an animal suffering from hypergastrinemia, Zollinger-Ellisonsyndrome, gastric ulceration or duodenal ulceration due to excessive andunregulated secretion of gastric acid, or to reduce or prevent theformation of gastrin-dependent tumours in the pancreas or duodenum (i.e.the prophylaxis and/or therapy of gastrinoma).

As will be clear to those skilled in the art, the nature of the T-helperand B cell epitopes is not critical in the context of the presentinvention. The novel approach of attaching the lipid moiety to theepsilon amino group of one or more internal lysine residues or lysineanalogue residues within the polypeptide portion of the construct hasbroad application. Accordingly, based on the results presented herein,it will be understood that a wide range of T-helper and B cell epitopescan be used in the lipopeptide constructs.

In fact, the broad range of applications exemplified herein indicate thegenerality of the lipopeptides of the present invention in theprophylaxis and therapy of a number of different conditions in humansand other mammals in which the generation of an immune response againstan antigenic B cell epitope is indicated. Accordingly, the presentinvention is not to be limited to the treatment of any specificcondition, ailment or disease state.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a representation of the structures of synthetic peptides andlipopeptides (left) and the relative solubilities of a sample of thosepeptides and lipopeptides in saline solution (right). Peptides weredesignated as follows:

-   (i) [Th] consisting of a CD4⁺ T-helper epitope from the light chain    of influenza virus haemagglutinin (SEQ ID NO: 1) or peptide P25 from    CDV-F (SEQ ID NO: 24);-   (ii) [B] consisting of a B cell epitope consisting of residues 1-10    of LHRH (SEQ ID NO: 2) or residues 2-10 of LHRH (SEQ ID NO: 3) or    residues 6-10 of LHRH (SEQ ID NO: 4), a B cell epitope of the M    protein of Group A Streptococcus (“peptide J14”; SEQ ID NO: 101); or    a B cell epitope of gastrin contained within the C-terminal 5    residues of gastrin (i.e., “pentagastrin”; SEQ ID NO: 102);-   (iii) [Th]-[B] consisting of a polypeptide having (i) and (ii)    (e.g., SEQ ID NOs: 5, 103, 104, 105, 107, 109 or 111); and-   (iv) [Th]-Lys-[B] consisting of a polypeptide having (i) and (ii)    separated by a lysine residue (e.g., SEQ ID NOs: 7, 9, 13, 106, 108,    110, or 112).

Lipopeptides were designated as follows:

-   (i) Pam₃Cys-[Th]-[B] consisting of a lipid of the Formula (I)    conjugated to the N-terminus of peptide [Th]-[B] supra (i.e. to the    N-terminus of, for example, any one of SEQ ID NOs: 5, 103, 104, 105,    107, 109 or 111);-   (ii) Pam₃Cys-Ser-Ser-[Th]-[B] consisting of a lipoamino acid of the    Formula (III) conjugated to the N-terminus of peptide [Th]-[B] supra    (i.e. to the N-terminus of, for example, any one of SEQ ID NOs: 5,    103, 104, 105, 107, 109 or 111);-   (iii) Pam₂Cys-[Th]-[B] consisting of a lipid of the Formula (II)    conjugated to the N-terminus of peptide [Th]-[B] supra (i.e. to the    N-terminus of, for example, any one of SEQ ID NOs: 5, 103, 104, 105,    107, 109 or 111);-   (iv) Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser-[Th]-[B] consisting of a lipid of the    Formula (IV) conjugated to the N-terminus of peptide [Th]-[B] supra    (i.e. to the N-terminus of, for example, any one of SEQ ID NOs: 5,    103, 104, 105, 107, 109 or 111);-   (v) [Th]-Lys(Pam₃Cys)-[B] consisting of peptide [Th]-Lys-[B] (e.g.,    any one of SEQ ID NOs: 7, 9, 13, 106, 108, 110, or 112) and a lipid    of the Formula (I) conjugated to the epsilon-amino group of the    internal lysine (Lys) of said peptide;-   (vi) [Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys)-[B] consisting of peptide [Th]-Lys-[B] (e.g.,    any one of SEQ ID NOs: 7, 9, 13, 106, 108, 110, or 112) and a lipid    of the Formula (II) conjugated to the epsilon-amino group of the    internal lysine (Lys) of said peptide; and-   (vii) [Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser)-[B] consisting of peptide    [Th]-Lys-[B] (e.g., any one of SEQ ID NOs: 7, 9, 13, 106, 108, 110,    or 112) conjugated serially via the epsilon amino group of the    internal lysine (Lys) to a serine homodimer (i.e. Ser-Ser) and then    a lipid of the Formula (II). Thus, to produce this branched    lipopeptide, the two serine residues were added to the epsilon-amino    group of the lysine residue before the lipid moiety was attached.

Relative solubility of the peptides and lipopeptides based upon theinfluenza virus haemagglutinin T-helper epitope (SEQ ID NO: 1) and theLHRH 1-10 B-cell epitope (SEQ ID NO: 2) is indicated at the right of thefigure, ranging from low solubility (−) to high solubility (++++).

FIG. 2 is a photographic representation showing the solubilities oflipopeptides designated [Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser)-[B] (left) andPam₂Cys-Ser-Ser-[Th]-[B] (right) in FIG. 1, wherein the polypeptidemoieties have the amino acid sequences set forth in SEQ ID NO: 7 and SEQID NO: 5, respectively. Both solutions are approximately 1 mg/mllipopeptide in saline solution. The enhanced clarity of the solutioncomprising lipopeptide [Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser)-[B] is indicative ofits higher solubility compared to lipopeptide Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser-[Th]-[B].

FIG. 3 is a graphical representation showing the anti-LHRH antibodytiters obtained using each of the peptides and lipopeptides shown inFIG. 1, wherein the polypeptide moieties have the amino acid sequencesset forth in SEQ ID NO: 5 or SEQ ID NO: 7. A negative controllipopeptide designated Pam₃Cys-Ser-Lys₄ consisted of the lipid ofFormula (I) conjugated to the N-terminus of a peptide having the aminoacid sequence Ser-Lys-Lys-Lys-Lys (SEQ ID NO: 17). All peptides andlipopeptides were administered sub-cutaneously (s.c.) in saline for bothprimary inoculation (open circles) and secondary inoculations (closedcircles). The two non-lipidated peptides [Th]-Lys-[B] and [Th]-[B] wereadministered in complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) for the primaryinoculations, and in incomplete Freund's adjuvant (IFA) for thesecondary inoculations. For administration of the peptide [Th]-[B] incombination with the lipopeptide Pam₃Cys-S-Lys₄, peptide was dissolvedin saline and mixed with the lipopeptide in 1:1 or 1:5 molar ratio asindicated. The dose of peptide and lipopeptide immunogens administeredwas 20 nmole. In all cases, control groups of animals received salineemulsified in CFA for priming and saline emulsified in IFA for thesecondary inoculation.

FIG. 4 is a graphical representation showing anti-LHRH antibody titers(log₁₀) on the ordinate for each anti-LHRH antibody isotype (i.e. IgM,IgA, IgG1, IgG2a, IgG2b, IgG3, and total Ig) (abscissa) obtained orelicited during secondary antibody responses following inoculation withthe lipopeptide [Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser)-[B] (SEQ ID NO: 7). Mice werebled 2 weeks after receiving the second dose of the lipopeptide vaccineadministered in saline either subcutaneously (open squares) orintranasally (closed squares) in saline.

FIG. 5 is a graphical representation showing the relative abilities ofpeptides and lipopeptides shown in FIG. 1 (i.e. SEQ ID NO: 5 or SEQ IDNO: 7) to enhance the expression of MHC class II molecules on thesurface of dendritic cells. Peptides and lipopeptides are indicated ineach panel according to the nomenclature of FIG. 1. For each peptide orlipopeptide, 8×10⁴ D1 cells were exposed to 4.5 fmole of peptide orlipopeptide and incubated overnight. The cells were collected and theMHC class II molecules expression was determined by flow cytometry afterstaining with FITC-conjugated anti-1-E^(k,d) monoclonal antibody. About3×10⁴ D1 cells were analyzed for each sample. Data shown are for arepresentative of four independent experiments, and indicate enhancedstaining with monoclonal antibody (i.e. enhanced D1 cell maturation)following administration of lipopeptides, particularly lipopeptide[Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser)-[B] which induced a D1 maturation rateapproaching the level observed for D1 cells challenged withlipopolysaccharide (LPS). Data obtained using the non-lipidated peptide[Th]-Lys-[B] are substantially the same as for D1 cells incubated inmedium without any added peptide, lipopeptide or LPS, indicating aspontaneous maturation rate of about 26%.

FIG. 6 is a graphical representation showing anti-LHRH antibodyresponses elicited by lipidated [Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys)-[B] in which [Th]consists of CD4⁺ T cell epitope from the light chain of influenzahaemagglutinin (SEQ ID NO: 1) and [B] is LHRH 1-10 (SEQ ID NO: 2) orLHRH 6-10 (i.e. the C-terminal 5 residues of LHRH; SEQ ID NO: 4), withor without a serine spacer (Ser-Ser) positioned between the lipid andpeptide moieties. Lipopeptide [Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys)-GlyLeuArgProGly isstructurally similar to [Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys)-[B], however this lipopeptidecomprises SEQ ID NO: 4 in place of SEQ ID NO: 2.

FIG. 7 is a representation showing structural data, HPLC and massspectra data for different lipopeptide constructs based on the T helperepitope P25 (SEQ ID NO: 24) and LHRH 2-10 (SEQ ID NO: 3), wherein thepeptide moiety has the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 9 andthe lipid moiety is selected from the group consisting of: (i) Pam₂Cys;(ii) Ste₂Cys; (iii) Lau₂Cys; and (iv) Oct₂Cys. Different spacers werealso positioned between the lipid moiety and the peptide moiety, asfollows: (i) Ser-Ser, two serine residues; (ii) Arg-Arg, two arginineresidues; and (iii) Ahx, 6-aminohexanoic acid. Structures of thelipopeptides are indicated in the left column; HPLC chromatograms foreach lipopeptide are indicated in the middle column; and mass spectraare shown in the right column of the figure.

FIG. 8 is a graphical representation showing the immunogenicity of thoselipopeptides indicated in the legend to FIG. 7 having a Ser-Ser spacerbetween the peptide and the lipid moiety and wherein the lipid moiety isselected from the group consisting of: (i) Pam₂Cys; (ii) Ste₂Cys; (iii)Lau₂Cys; and (iv) Oct₂Cys. Groups of BALB/c mice (6-8 weeks old) wereinoculated subcutaneously with 20 nmoles of peptide immunogens for bothprimary and secondary vaccinations. All lipopeptides were administeredin saline. The non lipidated peptide [Th]-Lys-[B] was administered inCFA as a control. Sera were obtained from blood taken at 4 weeksfollowing the primary vaccination (open circles) and 2 weeks followingthe secondary vaccination (closed circles).

FIG. 9 is a graphical representation showing immunogenicity oflipopeptide immunogens from FIG. 7 having different spacers positionedbetween the lipid and peptide moieties, in particular spacers consistingof serine homodimers (Ser-Ser), arginine homodimers (Arg-Arg), or6-aminohexanoic acid (Ahx). Groups of BALB/c mice (6-8 weeks old) wereinoculated subcutaneously with 20 nmoles of peptide immunogens for bothprimary and secondary vaccinations. All lipopeptides were administeredin saline. The non lipidated peptide [Th]-Lys-[B] was administered inCFA as a control. Sera were obtained from blood taken at 4 weeksfollowing the primary vaccination (open circles) and 2 weeks followingthe secondary vaccination (closed circles).

FIG. 10 is a graphical representation showing quality control data for alipopeptide construct [Th](Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser)-[B] in which the lipidmoiety is pendant from the epsilon-amino group of an internal lysineresidue (Lys-14) within the helper T cell epitope of the peptide setforth in SEQ ID NO: 103. The structures of the lipopeptide is indicatedin the left column; an HPLC chromatogram for the lipopeptide isindicated in the middle column; and mass spectra data are shown in theright column of the figure.

FIG. 11 is a graphical representation showing immunogenicity of thelipopeptide immunogen described in the legend to FIG. 10, compared to alipopeptide immunogen having the lipid moiety added to an internallysine residue positioned between the T-helper epitope and the B-cellepitope (i.e., the lipid moiety is added to the amino acid sequence setforth in SEQ ID NO: 9, which differs from SEQ ID NO: 103 in having aninternal lysine added between the T-helper and B-cell epitopes). Acontrol non-lipidated peptide having the amino acid sequence set forthin SEQ ID NO: 9 (i.e., [Th]-Lys-[B]) was also used as a control. Groupsof BALB/c mice (6-8 weeks old) were inoculated subcutaneously with 20nmoles of peptide immunogens for both primary and secondaryvaccinations. All lipopeptides were administered in saline. The nonlipidated control peptide [Th]-Lys-[B] was administered in CFA. Serawere obtained from blood taken at 4 weeks following the primaryvaccination (open circles) and 2 weeks following the secondaryvaccination (closed circles). The lipopeptide construct[Th](Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser)-[B] has the lipid moiety attached to theepsilon-amino group of a lysine residue (Lys-14) within the helper Tcell epitope. The lipopeptide construct [Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser)-[B]has the lipid attached to the epsilon-amino group of a lysine residueplaced between the two peptide epitopes.

FIG. 12 is a graphical representation showing the ability of alipopeptide comprising the T-helper epitope P25 (SEQ ID NO: 24) and aGroup A Streptococcus B cell epitope (“J14”; SEQ ID NO: 101) and havingthe amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 106, and one or two lipid moietiesto elicit serum IgG in mice. The lipoamino acid moiety Pam₂Cys-Ser-Serwas added to an internal lysine positioned between the T-helper epitopeand the B-cell epitope in all lipopeptides tested. In the lipopeptide[Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser)-[J14], this is the only lipid moiety, whereasin the lipopeptide Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser-[Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser)-[J14], anadditional lipoamino acid moiety Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser was added to theN-terminal amino group of the T-helper epitope. Other immunogens were asfollows: J14, non-lipidated peptide consisting of the J14 B-cellepitope-containing peptide (SEQ ID NO: 101); [Th]-[J14], a non-lipidatedpeptide consisting of the T-helper epitope (SEQ ID NO: 24) and the J14peptide (SEQ ID NO: 101) and having the amino acid sequence of SEQ IDNO: 106; a lipidated peptide consisting of the T-helper epitope (SEQ IDNO: 24) and the LHRH B-cell epitope-containing peptide (SEQ ID NO: 3)and having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9; andphosphate-buffered saline (PBS). Female outbred Quackenbush mice 4-6weeks old (15/group) were inoculated intranasally with 60 μg ofpeptide-based vaccine in a total volume of 30 μl PBS. Mice receivedthree doses of vaccine at 21-day intervals. Seven days following thefinal dose mice were bled from the tail vein and J14-specific serum IgGwas determined. Mice that received either J14-containing lipopeptideshad significantly higher (P<0.05) serum IgG titres than did the controlgroups.

FIG. 13 is a graphical representation showing the opsonisationcapability of antisera elicited by the non-lipidated peptides andlipopeptides indicated in the legend to FIG. 12. Female outbredQuackenbush mice 4-6 weeks old (15/group) were inoculated intranasallywith 60 μg of peptide-based vaccine in a total volume of 30 μl PBS. Micereceived three doses of vaccine at 21-day intervals. Indirectbacteriacidal assays were performed to determine the ability of serafrom immunized mice to opsonise or “kill” the M1 GAS strain in vitro.Sera collected from mice immunized with either J14-containinglipopeptides were capable of significant (P<0.05) killing of GAScompared to sera collected from animals immunized with control peptidesor lipopeptides or PBS.

FIG. 14 is a graphical representation showing the ability of thenon-lipidated peptides and lipopeptides indicated in the legend to FIG.12 to elicit salivary IgA in mice. Female outbred Quackenbush mice 4-6weeks old (15/group) were inoculated intranasally with 60 μg of eachpeptide-based vaccine in a total volume of 30 μl PBS. Mice receivedthree doses of vaccine at 21-day intervals. Eight days following thefinal dose saliva was collected from individual mice and the averageJ14-specific salivary IgA antibody titres were determined by standardELISA. The mice inoculated with either J14-containing lipopeptides hadsignificantly (P<0.05) higher titres than the control groups that wereimmunized with control peptides or control lipopeptides or PBS.

FIG. 15 is a graphical representation showing the ability of thenon-lipidated J14-containing peptides and J14-containing lipopeptidesindicated in the legend to FIG. 12 to elicit fecal IgA in mice. Femaleoutbred Quackenbush mice 4-6 weeks old (15/group) were inoculatedintranasally with 60 μg of peptide-based vaccine in a total volume of 30μl PBS. Mice received three doses of vaccine at 21-day intervals. FecalIgA was determined 6 days following the last dose of antigen. Only miceinoculated with mono-lipidated J14-containing peptide, wherein the lipidmoiety was positioned between the T-helper epitope and the B-cellepitope (i.e., [Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser)-[J14]) had significant (P<0.05)faecal IgA titres.

FIG. 16 is a graphical representation showing the ability of mice tosurvive challenge with bacteria following inoculation with thenon-lipidated peptides and lipopeptides indicated in the legend to FIG.12. Two weeks after the last dose of antigen, mice were challengedintranasally with M1 GAS strain and survival determined at various timepoints afterwards. Mice inoculated with mono-lipidated J14-containingpeptide, wherein the lipid moiety was positioned between the T-helperepitope and the B-cell epitope (i.e., [Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser)-[J14])demonstrated the best survival following challenge.

FIG. 17 is a graphical representation showing the immunogenicity oflipopeptide immunogens based on gastrin. Groups (5 animals/group) ofBALB/c mice (6-8 weeks of age) were inoculated subcutaneously in thebase of tail with 20 nmoles of peptide immunogens. The peptides usedwere Gastrin-17 (SEQ ID NO: 113); [P25]-Lys-[PentaGastrin] (SEQ ID NO:110) in which PentaGastrin is the C-terminal sequence GWMDF of gastrinas set forth in (SEQ ID NO: 102); and[P25]-Lys(Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser)-[PentaGastrin] (SEQ ID NO: 110 with lipidadded to an internal lysine residue). All lipopeptides were administeredin PBS and the non-lipidated peptides were administered in CFA. Thenegative control was saline emulsified with CFA. Sera were obtained fromanimals 4 weeks after immunisation and at the same time the animalsreceived a second similar dose of antigen. Mice were bled a second time2 weeks after receiving the second dose of antigen and antibodiescapable of reacting with the peptide gastrin-17 sequence detected byELISA. The results are expressed as the titre of anti-gastrin-17antibodies.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Lipopeptides

One aspect of the invention provides an isolated lipopeptide comprisinga polypeptide conjugated to one or more lipid moieties wherein:

-   -   (i) said polypeptide comprises an amino acid sequence that        comprises:        -   (a) the amino acid sequence of a T helper cell (Th) epitope            and the amino acid sequence of a B cell epitope, wherein            said amino acid sequences are different; and        -   (b) one or more internal lysine residues or internal lysine            analog residues for covalent attachment of each of said            lipid moieties via the epsilon-amino group or terminal            side-chain group of said lysine or lysine analog; and    -   (ii) each of said one or more lipid moieties is covalently        attached directly or indirectly to an epsilon-amino group of        said one or more internal lysine residues or to a terminal        side-chain group of said internal lysine analog residues.

As used herein, the term “lipopeptide” means any non-naturally occurringcomposition of matter comprising one or more lipid moieties and one ormore amino acid sequences that are directly or indirectly conjugated,said composition of matter being substantially free of non-specificnon-conjugated lipid or protein.

By “directly” means that a lipid moiety and an amino acid sequence arenot separated by a spacer molecule.

By “indirectly” means that a lipid moiety and an amino acid sequence areseparated by a spacer comprising one or more carbon-containingmolecules, such as, for example, one or more amino acid residues.

The amino acid sequence may be of any length, constrained by therequirement for functionality of both the T-helper epitope and the Bcell epitope.

As used herein, the term “internal lysine residue” means a lysineresidue in the polypeptide comprising both the T-helper epitope and theB-cell epitope, wherein said lysine is not the N-terminal amino acidresidue or the C-terminal residue of said polypeptide. This means thatthe internal lysine residue to which the lipid moiety is attached is aresidue that is present in the amino acid sequence of the T helper cellepitope or the amino acid sequence of the antigen. The internal lysineresidue may also be distinct from the T-helper epitope or the B-cellepitope, in which case it must link these two epitopes of thepolypeptide.

Similarly, the term “internal lysine analog residue” means a lysineanalog residue in the polypeptide comprising both the T-helper epitopeand the B-cell epitope, wherein said lysine analog is not the N-terminalamino acid residue or the C-terminal residue of said polypeptide. Thecriteria for establishing whether or not a lysine residue is “internal”shall apply mutatis mutandis to determining whether or not a lysineanalog is internal.

By “lysine analog” is meant a synthetic compound capable of beingincorporated into the internal part of a peptide that has a suitableside-group to which the lipid moiety can be coupled, including an aminoacid analog or non-naturally occurring amino acid having such an aminoside group. Preferred lysine analogs include compounds of the followinggeneral Formula (V):

wherein n is an integer from 0 to 3 and wherein X is a terminalside-chain group of said internal lysine analog residue selected fromthe group consisting of NH, O and S. More preferably, n is an integerhaving a value from 1 to 3. More preferably, X is an amino group and thelysine analog is a diamino compound. In a particularly preferredembodiment, the lysine analog is selected from the group consisting of2,3 diaminopropionic acid (Dpr), 2,4-diaminobutyric acid (Dab) and2,5-diaminovaleric acid [i.e. ornithine (Orn)].

Those skilled in the art will know the meaning of the term“epsilon-amino group”.

The term “terminal side-chain group” means a substituent on the sidechain of a lysine analog the is distal to the alpha-carbon of saidanalog, such as, for example, a beta-amino of Dpr, gamma-amino of Dab,or delta-amino of Orn.

The inventors have found that the most effective lipopeptides are highlysoluble. The relative ability of the lipopeptides of the invention toinduce an antibody response in the absence of external adjuvant wasreflected by their ability to upregulate the surface expression of MHCclass II molecules on immature dendritic cells (DC), particularly D1cells as described by Winzler et al J Exp Med 185, 317, 1997).

As will be known to those skilled in the art, the epsilon amino group oflysine is the terminal amino group of the side chain of this amino acid.Use of the epsilon amino group of lysine or the terminal side-chaingroup of a lysine analog for cross-linkage to the lipid moietyfacilitates the synthesis of the polypeptide moiety as a co-linear aminoacid sequence incorporating both the T-helper epitope and the B cellepitope. There is a clear structural distinction between a lipopeptidewherein lipid is attached via the epsilon amino group of a lysineresidue or the terminal side-chain group of a lysine analog and alipopeptide having the lipid attached via an alpha amino group oflysine, since the latter-mentioned lipopeptides can only have the lipidmoiety conjugated to an N-terminal residue.

Accordingly, it is particularly preferred for at least one internallysine residue or internal lysine analog to which the lipid moiety isattached to be positioned within the polypeptide moiety so as toseparate the immunologically-functional epitopes. For example, theinternal lysine residue or internal lysine analog residue may act as aspacer and/or linking residue between the epitopes. Naturally, whereinthe internal lysine or internal lysine analog is positioned between theT-helper epitope and the B cell epitope, the lipid moiety will beattached at a position that is also between these epitopes, albeitforming a branch from the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide.Preferably, a single internal lysine residue or internal lysine analogis used to separate B cell and T-helper epitopes (e.g., any one of SEQID NOs: 7, 9, 13, 106, 108, 110, or 112), in which case the lipid moietyis attached via the epsilon amino group of a lysine residue or theterminal side-chain group of a lysine analog positioned between theamino acid sequences of the T helper epitope and the antigenic B cellepitope.

The epsilon amino group of the internal lysine or the terminalside-chain group of a lysine analog can be protected by chemical groupswhich are orthogonal to those used to protect the alpha-amino andside-chain functional groups of other amino acids. In this way, theepsilon amino group of lysine or the terminal side-chain group of alysine analog can be selectively exposed to allow attachment of chemicalgroups, such as lipid-containing moieties, specifically to the epsilonamino group or the terminal side-chain group as appropriate.

For peptide syntheses using Fmoc chemistry, a suitable orthogonallyprotected epsilon group of lysine is provided by the modified amino acidresidue Fmoc-Lys(Mtt)-OH (Nα-Fmoc-Nε-4-methyltrityl-L-lysine). Similarsuitable orthogonally-protected side-chain groups are available forvarious lysine analogs contemplated herein, eg. Fmoc-Orn(Mtt)-OH(Nα-Fmoc-Nδ-4-methyltrityl-L-Ornithine), Fmoc-Dab(Mtt)-OH(Nα-Fmoc-Nγ-4-methyltrityl-L-diaminobutyric acid) and Fmoc-Dpr(Mtt)-OH(Nα-Fmoc-Nβ-4-methyltrityl-L-diaminopropionic acid). The side-chainprotecting group Mtt is stable to conditions under which the Fmoc grouppresent on the alpha amino group of lysine or a lysine analog is removedbut can be selectively removed with 1% trifluoroacetic acid indichloromethane. Fmoc-Lys(Dde)-OH(Nα-Fmoc-Nε-1-(4,4-dimethyl-2,6-dioxocyclohex-1-ylidene)ethyl-L-lysine)or Fmoc-Lys(ivDde)-OH(Nα-Fmoc-Nε-1-(4,4-dimethyl-2,6-dioxocyclohex-1-ylidene)-3-methylbutyl-L-lysine)can also be used in this context, wherein the Dde side-chain protectinggroups is selectively removed during peptide synthesis by treatment withhydrazine.

For peptide syntheses using Boc chemistry, Boc-Lys(Fmoc)-OH can be used.The side-chain protecting group Fmoc can be selectively removed bytreatment with piperidine or DBU (1,8-Diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene)but remains in place when the Boc group is removed from the alphaterminus using trifluoroacetic acid.

The optimum distance between the T-helper epitope and the B cellepitope, and consequently, the precise positioning and number ofinternal lysine or lysine analog residues in the lipopeptide of theinvention, is readily determined empirically, for each combination of Thelper epitopes, B cell epitopes, and lipids. In the case of syntheticpeptides and polypeptides, the limitations of the synthesis methodologyused to prepare the polypeptides may, in part, determine the separationbetween the T-helper epitope and the B cell epitope that is achievable,and the number and positioning of internal lysine or lysine analogresidue(s).

Preferably, the T helper epitope and B cell epitope are separated by atleast one or two or three or four or five amino acid residues includinga single internal lysine residue or lysine analog residue.

The present invention clearly contemplates the addition of multiplelipid moieties to the polypeptide moiety. To achieve this, thepolypeptide may include multiple internal lysine residues or multipleinternal lysine analog residues or a combination thereof. Sterichindrance may occur in the addition of lipid if multiple internal lysineor lysine analog residues are positioned more closely together, therebyproducing a mixture of end-products, or a reduced yield.

Relevant to this consideration is the fact that it is not necessary forthe entire amino acid sequence comprising the T-helper epitope or theentire amino acid sequence comprising the B cell epitope to have animmune function. Accordingly, the said amino acid sequences, whilstcomprising said epitopes may have additional sequence not possessingT-helper cell activity or a B cell epitope. Where such additionalsequences include one or more internal lysine or lysine analog residues,the terminal side-chain groups of such residues may serve as attachmentsites for the lipid moiety. Naturally, it is essential to retainT-helper function and B cell epitope function.

The positioning of the internal lysine residue or internal lysine analogfor attachment of the lipid moiety should also be selected such thatattachment of the lipid moiety does not interfere with the immunefunction of the T-helper epitope or the B cell epitope in a subject towhom the lipopeptide is administered. For example, depending upon theselection of lipid moiety, the attachment of said lipid within the Bcell epitope may sterically hinder antigen presentation.

A generalized preferred form of the lipopeptide of the invention,wherein the internal lysine or internal lysine analog is positionedbetween the T-helper and B-cell epitopes is provided by the generalFormula (VI).

wherein:

-   epitope is a T-helper epitope or B-cell epitope;-   A is either present or absent and consists of an amino acid spacer    of about 1 to about 6 amino acids in length;-   n is an integer having a value of 1, 2, 3, or 4;-   X is a terminal side-chain group selected from the group consisting    of NH, O and S and preferably consisting of NH;-   Y is either present of absent and consists of a spacer of about 1 to    about 6 amino acids in length, wherein it is preferred for said    spacer to comprise arginine, serine or 6-aminohexanoic acid; and-   Z is a lipid moiety, preferably a lipoamino acid moiety selected    from the group consisting of Pam₂Cys, Pam₃Cys, Ste₂Cys, Lau₂Cys, and    Oct₂Cys.

Those skilled in the art will be aware that Ste₂Cys is also known asS-[2,3-bis(stearoyloxy)propyl]cysteine ordistearoyl-S-glyceryl-cysteine; that Lau₂Cys is also known asS-[2,3-bis(lauroyloxy)propyl]cysteine or dilauroyl-S-glyceryl-cysteine);and that Oct₂Cys is also known as S-[2,3-bis(octanoyloxy)propyl]cysteineor dioctanoyl-S-glyceryl-cysteine).

The T-helper epitope is any T-helper epitope known to the skilledartisan for enhancing an immune response in a particular target subject(i.e. a human subject, or a specific non-human animal subject such as,for example, a rat, mouse, guinea pig, dog, horse, pig, or goat).Preferred T-helper epitopes comprise at least about 10-24 amino acids inlength, more generally about 15 to about 20 amino acids in length.

Promiscuous or permissive T-helper epitopes are particularly preferredas these are readily synthesized chemically and obviate the need to uselonger polypeptides comprising multiple T-helper epitopes.

Examples of promiscuous or permissive T-helper epitopes suitable for usein the lipopeptides of the present invention are selected from the groupconsisting of:

-   (i) a rodent or human T-helper epitope of tetanus toxoid peptide    (TTP), such as, for example amino acids 830-843 of TTP    (Panina-Bordignon et al., Eur. J. Immun. 19, 2237-2242, 1989);-   (ii) a rodent or human T-helper epitope of Plasmodium falciparum    pfg27;-   (iii) a rodent or human T-helper epitope of lactate dehydrogenase;-   (iv) a rodent or human T-helper epitope of the envelope protein of    HIV or HIVgp120 (Berzofsky et al., J. Clin. Invest 88, 876-884,    1991);-   (v) a synthetic human T-helper epitope (PADRE) predicted from the    amino acid sequence of known anchor proteins (Alexander et al.,    Immunity 1, 751-761, 1994);-   (vi) a rodent or human T-helper epitope of measles virus fusion    protein (MV-F; Muller et al., Mol. Immunol. 32, 37-47, 1995;    Partidos et al., J. Gen. Virol., 71, 2099-2105, 1990);-   (vii) a T-helper epitope comprising at least about 10 amino acid    residues of canine distemper virus fusion protein (CDV-F) such as,    for example, from amino acid positions 148-283 of CDV-F (Ghosh et    al., Immunol. 104, 58-66, 2001; International Patent Publication No.    WO 00/46390);-   (viii) a human T-helper epitope derived from the peptide sequence of    extracellular tandem repeat domain of MUC1 mucin (US Patent    Application No. 0020018806);-   (ix) a rodent or human T-helper epitope of influenza virus    haemagglutinin (IV-H) (Jackson et al. Virol. 198, 613-623, 1994; and-   (x) a bovine or camel T-helper epitope of the VP3 protein of foot    and mouth disease virus (FMDV-0₁ Kaufbeuren strain), comprising    residues 173 to 176 of VP3 or the corresponding amino acids of    another strain of FMDV.

As will be known to those skilled in the art, a T-helper epitope may berecognised by one or more mammals of different species. Accordingly, thedesignation of any T-helper epitope herein is not to be consideredrestrictive with respect to the immune system of the species in whichthe epitope is recognised. For example, a rodent T-helper epitope can berecognised by the immune system of a mouse, rat, rabbit, guinea pig, orother rodent, or a human or dog.

More preferably, the T-helper epitope will comprise an amino acidsequence selected from the group consisting of: (i) GALNNRFQIKGVELKSfrom IV-H; (SEQ ID NO: 1) (ii) ALNNRFQIKGVELKS from IV-H; (SEQ ID NO:18) (iii) LSEIKGVIVHRLEGV from MV-F; (SEQ ID NO: 19) (iv)TAAQITAGIALHQSNLN from CDV-F; (SEQ ID NO: 20) (v) IGTDNVHYKIMTRPSHQ fromCDV-F; (SEQ ID NO: 21) (vi) YKIMTRPSHQYLVIKLI from CDV-F; (SEQ ID NO:22) (vii) SHQYLVIKLIPNASLIE from CDV-F; (SEQ ID NO: 23) (viii)KLIPNASLIENCTKAEL from CDV-F; (SEQ ID NO: 24) (ix) LIENCTKAELGEYEKLLfrom CDV-F; (SEQ ID NO: 25) (x) AELGEYEKLLNSVLEPI from CDV-F; (SEQ IDNO: 26) (xi) KLLNSVLEPINQALTLM from CDV-F; (SEQ ID NO: 27) (xii)EPINQALTLMTKNVKPL from CDV-F; (SEQ ID NO: 28) (xiii) TLMTKNVKPLQSLGSGRfrom CDV-F; (SEQ ID NO: 29) (xiv) KPLQSLGSGRRQRRFAG from CDV-F; (SEQ IDNO: 30) (xv) SGRRQRRFAGVVLAGVA from CDV-F; (SEQ ID NO: 31) (xvi)FAGVVLAGVALGVATAA from CDV-F; (SEQ ID NO: 32) (xvii) GVALGVATAAQITAGIAfrom CDV-F; (SEQ ID NO: 33) (xviii) GIALHQSNLNAQAIQSL from CDV-F; (SEQID NO: 34) (xix) NLNAQAIQSLRTSLEQS from CDV-F; (SEQ ID NO: 35) (xx)QSLRTSLEQSNKAIEEI from CDV-F; (SEQ ID NO: 36) (xxi) EQSNKAIEEIREATQETfrom CDV-F; (SEQ ID NO: 37) (xxii) SSKTQTHTQQDRPPQPS from CDV-F; (SEQ IDNO: 38) (xxiii) QPSTELEETRTSRARHS from CDV-F; (SEQ ID NO: 39) (xxiv)RHSTTSAQRSTHYDPRT from CDV-F; (SEQ ID NO: 40) (xxv) PRTSDRPVSYTMNRTRSfrom CDV-F; (SEQ ID NO: 41) (xxvi) TRSRKQTSHRLKNIPVH from CDV-F; (SEQ IDNO: 42) (xxvii) TELLSIFGPSLRDPISA from CDV-F; (SEQ ID NO: 43) (xxviii)PRYIATNGYLISNFDES from CDV-F; (SEQ ID NO: 44) (xxix) CIRGDTSSCARTLVSGTfrom CDV-F; (SEQ ID NO: 45) (xxx) DESSCVFVSESAICSQN from CDV-F; (SEQ IDNO: 46) (xxxi) TSTIINQSPDKLLTFIA from CDV-F; (SEQ ID NO: 47) (xxxii)SPDKLLTFIASDTCPLV from CDV-F; (SEQ ID NO: 48) (xxxiii)STAPPAHGVTSAPDTRAPGSTAPP from (SEQ ID NO: 49) MUC-1; (xxxiv)GVTSAPDTRPAPGSTASSL from MUC-1; (SEQ ID NO: 50) (xxxv)GVTSAPDTRPAPGSTASL from MUC-1; (SEQ ID NO: 51) (xxxvi)TAPPAHGVTSAPDTRPAPGSTAPPKKG from (SEQ ID NO: 52) MUC-1; (xxxvii)STAPPAHGVTSAPDTRPAPGSTAPPK from (SEQ ID NO: 53) MUC-1; (xxxviii) GVAEfrom FMDV-VP3 protein; (SEQ ID NO: 54) (xxxix) TASGVAETTN from FMDV-VP3protein (SEQ ID NO: 55) (residues 170 to 179); and (xl) TAKSKKFPSYTATYQFfrom FMDV. (SEQ ID NO: 56)

The T-helper epitopes disclosed herein are included for the purposes ofexemplification only. Using standard peptide synthesis techniques knownto the skilled artisan, the T-helper epitopes referred to herein arereadily substituted for a different T-helper epitope to adapt thelipopeptide of the invention for use in a different species.Accordingly, additional T-helper epitopes known to the skilled person tobe useful in eliciting or enhancing an immune response in a targetspecies are not to be excluded.

Additional T-helper epitopes may be identified by a detailed analysis,using in vitro T-cell stimulation techniques of component proteins,protein fragments and peptides to identify appropriate sequences(Goodman and Sercarz, Ann. Rev. Immunol., 1, 465, (1983); Berzofsky, In:“The Year in Immunology, Vol. 2” page 151, Karger, Basel, 1986; andLivingstone and Fathman, Ann. Rev. Immunol., 5, 477, 1987).

The B cell epitope is conveniently derived from the amino acid sequenceof an immunogenic protein, lipoprotein, or glycoprotein of a virus,prokaryotic or eukaryotic organism, including but not limited to anantigen derived from a mammalian subject or a bacterium, fungus,protozoan, or parasite that infects said subject. Idiotypic andanti-idiotypic B cell epitopes against which an immune response isdesired are specifically included, as are lipid-modified B cellepitopes. Alternatively, the B cell epitope may be a carbohydrateantigen, such as, for example, an ABH blood group antigen,transplantation antigen (eg. Gal alpha1-3Gal beta1-4GlcNAc; Sandrin etal., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90, 11391-11395, 1993; Galili et al.,Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84, 1369-1373, 1987; Schofield et al., Nature418: 785-789, 2002) or a conjugate thereof.

The B-cell epitope will be capable of eliciting the production ofantibodies when administered to a mammal, preferably neutralizingantibody, and more preferably, a high titer neutralizing antibody.

Shorter B cell epitopes are preferred, to facilitate peptide synthesis.

Preferably, the length of the B cell epitope will not exceed about 30amino acids in length. More preferably, the B cell epitope sequenceconsists of about 25 amino acid residues or less, and more preferablyless than 20 amino acid residues, and even more preferably about 5-20amino acid residues in length.

Preferably, peptides will assume a conformation that mimics theconformation of the native polypeptide from which the B cell epitope isderived.

Preferred B cell epitopes from parasites are those associated withleishmania, malaria, trypanosomiasis, babesiosis, or schistosomiasis,such as, for example a B cell epitope selected from the group consistingof:

-   (i) a B cell epitope of Plasmodium falciparum (NANP) 3 (Good et    al., J. Exp. Med. 164, 655 1986);-   (ii) a B cell epitope of Circumsporozoa (Good et al., Protein Sci.,    235, 1059, 1987);-   (iii) a B cell epitope comprising amino acid residues 326-343 of    Leishmania donovani Repetitive Peptide (Liew et al., J. Exp. Med.    172, 1359 (1990));-   (iv) a B cell epitope of Toxoplasma gondii P30 surface protein    (Darcy et al., J. Immunol. 149, 3636 (1992)); and-   (v) a B cell epitope of Schistosoma mansoni Sm-28GST antigen    (Wolowxzuk et al., J. Immunol 146:1987 (1991)).

Preferred virus-specific B cell epitopes are derived from and/or capableof generating antibodies against Rotaviruses, Herpes viruses, Coronaviruses, Picornaviruses (eg. Apthovirus), Respiratory Synctial virus,Influenza Virus, Parainfluenza virus, Adenovirus, Pox viruses, Bovineherpes virus Type I, Bovine viral diarrhea virus, Bovine rotaviruses,Canine Distemper Virus (CDV), Equine Rhinitis A Virus (ERAV); EquineRhinitis B Virus (ERBV); Foot and Mouth Disease Virus (FMDV), MeaslesVirus (MV), Human Immunodeficiency Viruses (HIV), FelineImmunodeficiency Viruses (FIV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), or hepatitisvirus, and the like. Suitable viral B cell epitopes include, but are notlimited to epitopes selected from the group consisting of:

-   (i) HIV gp120 V3 loop, amino acid residues 308-331 (Jatsushita et    al., J. Virol. 62, 2107 (1988));-   (ii) HIV gp120 amino acid residues 428-443 (Ratner et al., Nature    313:277 (1985));-   (iii) HIV gp120 amino acid residues 112-124 (Berzofsky et al.,    Nature 334, 706 (1988));-   (iv) a B cell epitope of HIV Reverse transcriptase (Hosmalin et al.    Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. (USA) 87, 2344 (1990));-   (v) Influenza virus nucleoprotein amino acid residues 335-349    (Townsend et al. Cell 44, 959 (1986));-   (vi) Influenza virus nucleoprotein amino acid residues 366-379    (Townsend et al. Cell 44, 959 (1986));-   (vii) Influenza virus hemagglutinin amino acid residues 48-66 (Mills    et al, J. Exp. Med. 163, 1477 (1986));-   (viii) Influenza virus hemagglutinin amino acid residues 111-120    (Hackett et al., J. Exp. Med 158, 294 (1983));-   (ix) Influenza virus hemagglutinin amino acids 114-131 (Lamb and    Green, Immunology 50, 659 (1983));-   (x) Epstein-Barr LMP amino acid residues 43-53 (Thorley-Lawson et    al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (USA) 84, 5384 (1987));-   (xi) Hepatitis B virus surface antigen amino acid residues 95-109    (Milich et al., J. Immunol. 134, 4203 (1985));-   (xii) Hepatitis B virus surface antigen amino acid residues 140-154;-   (xiii) Hepatitis B virus Pre-S antigen amino acid residues 120-132    (Milich et al., J. Exp. Med. 164, 532 (1986));-   (xiv) Herpes simplex virus gD protein amino acid residues 5-23    (Jayaraman et al., J. Immunol. 151, 5777 (1993));-   (xv) Herpes simplex virus gD protein amino acid residues 241-260    (Wyckoff et al., Immunobiol., 177, 134 (1988));-   (xvi) Rabies glycoprotein amino acid residues 32-44 (MacFarlan et    al., J. Immunol 133, 2748 (1984));-   (xvii) The major FMDV epitope comprising at least amino acid    residues 134-168 or 137-160 or residues 142-160 or residues 137-162    or residues 145-150 of the VP1 capsid protein of FMDV serotype O₁,    or the corresponding amino acid residues of another serotype, such    as, for example, serotypes A, C, SAT1, SAT2, SAT3, or ASIA1 (U.S.    Pat. Nos. 5,864,008 and 6,107,021); and-   (xviii) The hypervariable region-1 (HVR1) of the E2 protein of    hepatitis C virus (HCV) variant AD78 (Zibert et al., J. Virol. 71,    4123-4127, 1997).

Preferred bacteria-specific B cell epitopes are derived from and/orcapable of generating antibodies against Pasteurella, Actinobacillus,Haemophilus, Listeria monocytogenes, Mycobacterium, Staphylococcus, E.coli, Shigella, and the like. Suitable bacterial B cell epitopesinclude, but are not limited to epitopes selected from the groupconsisting of:

-   (i) Mycobacterium tuberculosis 65 Kd protein amino acid residues    112-126 (Lamb et al., EMBO J., 6, 1245 (1987));-   (ii) M. tuberculosis 65 Kd protein amino acid residues 163-184 (Lamb    et al., EMBO J., 6, 1245 (1987));-   (iii) M. tuberculosis 65 Kd protein amino acid residues 227-243    (Lamb et al., EMBO J., 6, 1245 (1987));-   (iv) M. tuberculosis 65 Kd protein amino acid residues 242-266 (Lamb    et al., EMBO J., 6, 1245 (1987));-   (v) M. tuberculosis 65 Kd protein amino acid residues 437-459 (Lamb    et al., EMBO J., 6, 1245 (1987));-   (vi) M. tuberculosis ESAT-6 protein residues 3-15 (Morten et al.,    Infect. Immun. 66, 717-723, 1998);-   (vii) M. tuberculosis ESAT-6 protein residues 40-62 (Morten et al.,    Infect. Immun. 66, 717-723, 1998);-   (viii) Mycobacterium scrofulaceum alpha-antigen residues 279-290    (Mikiko et al., Microb. Path. 23, 95-100, 1997);-   (ix) Staphylococcus aureus nuclease protein amino acid residues    61-80 (Finnegan et al., J. Exp. Med. 164, 897 (1986));-   (x) a B cell epitope of Escherichia coli heat stable enterotoxin    (Cardenas et al., Infect. Immunity 61, 4629 (1993));-   (xi) a B cell epitope of Escherichia coli heat labile enterotoxin    (Clements et al., Infect Immunity 53, 685 (1986));-   (xii) a B cell epitope of Shigella sonnei form I antigen (Formal et    al., Infect. Immunity 34, 746 (1981));-   (xiii) a B cell epitope from Group A Streptococcus, preferably    derived from the M protein, more preferably from the C-terminal half    of the M protein and more preferably a minimum, helical,    non-host-cross-reactive peptide derived from the conserved    C-terminal half of the M protein and comprising a non-M-protein    peptide designed to maintain helical folding and antigenicity    displayed within said minimum, helical, non-host-cross-reactive    peptide. For example, the non-M-protein peptide (eg peptide J14) can    be linked to one or more serotypic M protein peptides using    chemistry that enables the immunogen to display all the individual    peptides pendant from an alkane backbone, thereby conferring    excellent immunogenicity and protection (U.S. Pat. No. 6,174,528;    Brandt et al., Nat. Med. 6:455-459, 2000);-   (xiv) a B cell epitope of the Cholera toxin B subunit (CTB), such    as, for example described by Kazemi and Finkelstein Mol. Immunol.    28, 865-876, 1991;-   (xv) a B cell epitope of a protein of Bacillus anthracis (anthrax),    such as, for example, a B cell epitope derived from a protein of the    outer exosporium of anthrax such as the 250 kDa glycoprotein    (Sylvestre et al., In: Proc. 4^(th) Int. Conf. Anthrax, St John's    College Annapolis, Md., CA Jun. 10-13, 2001, Abstract 31B; and-   (xvi) a B cell epitope from a protein of tetanus, such as, for    example, the tetanus toxoid protein.

Preferred B cell epitopes from mammalian subjects are derived fromand/or capable of generating antibodies against a tumor antigen. Tumorantigens are usually native or foreign antigens, the expression of whichis correlated with the development, growth, presence or recurrence of atumor. In as much as tumor antigens are useful in differentiatingabnormal from normal tissue, they are useful as a target for therapeuticintervention. Tumor antigens are well known in the art. Indeed, severalexamples are well-characterized and are currently the focus of greatinterest in the generation of tumor-specific therapies. Non-limitingexamples of tumor antigens are carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), prostatespecific antigen (PSA), melanoma antigens (MAGE, BAGE, GAGE), andmucins, such as MUC-1.

Alternatively, a preferred B cell epitope from a mammalian subject isderived from zona pellucida protein such as ZP3 (Chamberlin and DeanProc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (USA) 87, 6014-6018, 1990) or ZP3a (Yurewicz etal., Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1174, 211-214, 1993)] of humans or othermammals such as pigs. Particularly preferred B cell epitopes within thiscategory include amino acid residues 323-341 of human ZP3 (Chamberlinand Dean Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (USA) 87, 6014-6018, 1990); amino acidresidues 8-18 or residues 272-283 or residues 319-330 of porcine ZP3a(Yurewicz et al., Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1174, 211-214, 1993).

Further preferred B cell epitopes from a mammalian subject are derivedfrom and/or capable of generating antibodies against a peptide hormone,such as, for example, a satiety hormone (eg. leptin), a digestivehormone (eg. gastrin), or a reproductive peptide hormone [eg.luteinising hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH), follicle stimulatinghormone (FSH), luteinising hormone (LH), human chorionic gonadotropin(hCG; Carisen et al., J. Biol. Chem. 248, 6810-6827, 1973), oralternatively, a hormone receptor such as, for example, the FSH receptor(Kraaij et al., J. Endocrinol. 158,127-136, 1998). Particularlypreferred B cell epitopes within this category include the C-terminalportion (CTP) of b-hCG that is antigenically non cross-reactive with LH(Carlsen et al., J. Biol. Chem. 248, 6810-6827, 1973).

In a particularly preferred embodiment, a peptide comprising a B-cellepitope will comprise an amino acid sequence selected from the groupconsisting of:

-   (i) EHWSYGLRPG derived from LHRH (herein referred to as “LHRH 1-10”;    SEQ ID NO: 2);-   (ii) HWSYGLRPG derived from LHRH (herein referred to as “LHRH 2-10”;    SEQ ID NO: 3);-   (ii) GLRPG derived from LHRH ((herein referred to as “LHRH 6-10”;    SEQ ID NO: 4);-   (iii) EAEEMRLQA from Leishmani major (SEQ ID NO: 57);-   (iv) a sequence from a non-structural protein 3A, 3B, or 3C of FMDV    (U.S. Pat. No. 6,048,538) selected from the group consisting of:    FRERTLTGQRACNDVNSE (SEQ ID NO: 58), NPLETSGASTVGFRERTL (SEQ ID NO:    59), IRETRKRQKMVDDAVNEY (SEQ ID NO: 60), AKAPVVKEGPYEGPVKKPV (SEQ ID    NO: 61), AGPLERQKPLKVKAKAPVV (SEQ ID NO: 62), KVRAKLPQQEGPYAGPLER    (SEQ ID NO: 63), GPYTGPLERQRPLKVRAKL (SEQ ID NO: 64),    VGRLIFSGEALTYKDIVV (SEQ ID NO: 65), TKHFRDTARMKKGTPVVGV (SEQ ID NO:    66), and SGAPPTDLQKMVMGNTKPV (SEQ ID NO: 67);-   (v) NKYSASGSGVRGDFGSLAPRVARQLPASFNYGAIK from the FMDV VP1 major    epitope (U.S. Pat. No. 6,107,021; SEQ ID NO: 68);-   (vi) A sequence from prostate specific antigen (U.S. Pat. No.    6,326,471) selected from the group consisting of:    LYTKVVHYRKWIKDTIVANP (SEQ ID NO: 69), AVKVMDLPQEPALGTTCYA (SEQ ID    NO: 70), IVGGWECEKHSQPWQVLVAS (SEQ ID NO: 71), CAQVHPQKVTKFML (SEQ    ID NO: 72), YLMLLRLSEPAELTDDAVKVM (SEQ ID NO: 73),    LLKNRFLRPGDDSSHDLMLLY (SEQ ID NO: 74), and ILLGRHSLFHPEDTGQVFQVY    (SEQ ID NO: 75);-   (vii) TCDDPRFQDSSSSKAPPPSLPSPSRLPGPSDTPILPQ from b-hCG (SEQ ID NO:    76);-   (viii) CQDSKVTEIPTLPRNAI from the FSH receptor (SEQ ID NO: 77);-   (ix) NKGDCGTPSHSRRQPHVMS from human ZP3 protein (SEQ ID NO: 78);-   (x) a sequence from porcine ZP3a protein selected from the group    consisting of: WLCFPLCLALP (SEQ ID NO: 79) LGGLYCGPSSF (SEQ ID NO:    80), GSITRDSIFRLR (SEQ ID NO: 81), SALPVNIQVFTL (SEQ ID NO: 82),    ELQIAKDERYGS (SEQ ID NO: 83), and VKLLREPIYVEV (SEQ ID NO: 84);-   (xi) PPAQYSWLIDGN from carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA; SEQ ID NO:    85);-   (xii) a sequence from Staphylococcal nuclease (Cone et al., J. Biol.    Chem. 246, 3103-3110. 1971) selected from the group consisting of:    ANASQTDNGVNRSGSEDPTV (SEQ ID NO: 86) and PETKHPKKGVEKYGPEASAF (SEQ    ID NO: 87);-   (xiii) a sequence of Hepatitis B virus Surface antigen (Kobayashi    and Koike, Gene 30, 227-232, 1984) selected from the group    consisting of: LVLLDYQGMLPVCPL (SEQ ID NO: 88) and TKPSDGNCTCIPIPS    (SEQ ID NO: 89);-   (xiv) MQWNSTTFHQALL from Hepatitis B virus precursor Surface antigen    (SEQ ID NO: 90);-   (xv) A sequence from Influenza virus nucleoprotein (Gregory et    al., J. Gen. Virol. 82, 1397-1406, 2001) selected from the group    consisting of: AAFEDLRVSSFIRGT (SEQ ID NO: 91) and SNENMETMDSSTLE    (SEQ ID NO: 92);-   (xvi) A sequence from Influenza virus hemagglutinin selected from    the group consisting of: HPLILDTCTIEGLIYGNPS (SEQ ID NO: 93),    YQRIQIFPDT (SEQ ID NO: 94), and IQIFPDTIWNVSYSGTSK (SEQ ID NO: 95);-   (xvii) CKYSASGSGVRGDFGSLAPRVARCLPASFNTGAIKNKY from the FMDV envelope    glycoprotein VP1 (SEQ ID NO: 96);-   (xviii) A sequence from the M. tuberculosis ESAT-6 protein selected    from the group consisting of: EQQWNFAGIEAAA (SEQ ID NO: 97) and    AAAWGGSGSEAYQGVQQKWDATA (SEQ ID NO: 98).-   (xix) GGPTRTIGGSQAQTASGLVSMFSVGPSQK (SEQ ID NO: 99) from HCV;-   (xx) KFQDAYNMGGH (SEQ ID NO: 100) from M. scrofulaceum alpha    antigen;-   (xxi) KQAEDKVKASREAKKQVEKALEQLEDKVK (SEQ ID NO: 101) from the M    protein of group A Streptococcus (i.e., peptide designated herein as    “J14”); and-   (xxii) GWMDF (SEQ ID NO: 102) from gastrin (i.e., pentagastrin    consisting of the C-terminal five amino acid residues of gastrin).

It will be apparent from the preceding description that the polypeptidemoiety of the subject lipopeptide is synthesized conveniently as asingle amino acid chain, thereby requiring no post-synthesismodification to incorporate both epitopes.

A polypeptide moiety which comprises a highly immunogenic B cell epitopeof LHRH (eg. SEQ ID NO: 2 or 3 or 4) linked either to a T-helper epitopeof influenza virus hemagglutinin (eg. SEQ ID NO: 1) or a T-helperepitope of CDV-F (eg. SEQ ID NO: 20, 24, 26, or 44) is particularlypreferred, such as, for example, a polypeptide comprising an amino acidsequence selected from the group consisting of: (i)GALNNRFQIKGVELKSEHWSYGLRPG; (SEQ ID NO: 5) (ii)EHWSYGLRPGGALNNRFQIKGVELKS; (SEQ ID NO: 6) (iii)GALNNRFQIKGVELKSKEHWSYGLRPG; (SEQ ID NO: 7) (iv)EHWSYGLRPGKGALNNRFQIKGVELKS; (SEQ ID NO: 8) (v)KLIPNASLIENCTKAELKHWSYGLRPG; (SEQ ID NO: 9) (vi)AELGEYEKLLNSVLEPIKEHWSYGLRPG; (SEQ ID NO: 10) (vii)TAAQITAGIALHQSNLNKEHWSYGLRPG; (SEQ ID NO: 11) (viii)PRYIATNGYLISNFDESKEHWSYGLRPG; (SEQ ID NO: 12) (ix)KLIPNASLIENCTKAELKGLRPG; (SEQ ID NO: 13) (x) AELGEYEKLLNSVLEPIKGLRPG;(SEQ ID NO: 14) (xi) TAAQITAGIALHQSNLNKGLRPG; (SEQ ID NO: 15) (xii)PRYIATNGYLISNFDESKGLRPG; (SEQ ID NO: 16) (xiii)KLIPNASLIENCTKAELHWSYGLRPG; (SEQ ID NO: 103) and (xiv)KLIPNASLIENCTKAELGLRPG. (SEQ ID NO: 104)

In a particularly preferred embodiment, the LHRH epitope (i.e. LHRH1-10as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 2; LHRH 2-10 as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 3; orLHRH 6-10 as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 4) is positioned such that theC-terminal glycine residue is exposed or not internal. Accordingly, theconfiguration set forth in any one of SEQ ID Nos: 5, 7, or 9-16 isparticularly preferred.

In one exemplified embodiment, LHRH 1-10 is conjugated to the T-helperepitope of influenza virus haemagglutinin (i.e., SEQ ID NO: 1) asdescribed by the sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 5 or 7, and LHRH 2-10or LHRH 6-10 is conjugated to a T-helper epitope of CDV-F (i.e., SEQ IDNO: 24) as described by the sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 9, 13, 103or 104. Other combinations are clearly possible and encompassed by thepresent invention.

In an alternative embodiment, a polypeptide moiety which comprises ahighly immunogenic B cell epitope of the M protein of Group Astreptococcus (eg. the J14 peptide set forth in SEQ ID NO: 101) linkedto a T-helper epitope of CDV-F (eg. SEQ ID NO: 24) or influenza virushaemagglutinin (e.g., SEQ ID NO: 1) is particularly preferred, such as,for example, a polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence selectedfrom the group consisting of: (SEQ ID NO: 105) (i)KLIPNASLIENCTKAELKQAEDKVKASREAKKQVEKALEQLEDKVK; (SEQ ID NO: 106) (ii)KLIPNASLIENCTKAELKKQAEDKVKASREAKKQVEKALEQLEDKVK; (SEQ ID NO: 107) (iii)GALNNRFQIKGVELKSKQAEDKVKASREAKKQVEKALEQLEDKVK; and (SEQ ID NO: 108) (iv)GALNNRFQIKGVELKSKKQAEDKVKASREAKKQVEKALEQLEDKVK.

In a further alternative embodiment, a polypeptide moiety whichcomprises a highly immunogenic B cell epitope of pentagastrin (eg. SEQID NO: 102) linked to a T-helper epitope of CDV-F (eg. SEQ ID NO: 24) orinfluenza virus haemagglutinin (e.g., SEQ ID NO: 1) is particularlypreferred, such as, for example, a polypeptide comprising an amino acidsequence selected from the group consisting of: (i)KLIPNASLIENCTKAELGWMDF; (SEQ ID NO: 109) (ii) KLIPNASLIENCTKAELKGWMDF;(SEQ ID NO: 110) (iii) GALNNRFQIKGVELKSGWMDF; (SEQ ID NO: 111) and (iv)GALNNRFQIKGVELKSKGWMDF. (SEQ ID NO: 112)

The skilled artisan will readily be able to synthesize additionalpolypeptide moieties to those exemplified herein for use in the subjectlipopeptides, by substituting the T-helper epitope and/or the B cellepitope of any one of SEQ ID Nos: 5-16 or any one of SEQ ID Nos: 103-112with another T-helper epitope or B cell epitope, such as, for example aT-helper epitope set forth in any one of SEQ ID Nos: 18-56, or a B cellepitope set forth in any one of SEQ ID Nos: 57-102. Moreover, theselection of appropriate T-helper epitope and B cell combinations willbe apparent to the skilled artisan from the disclosure provided herein,according to the target species and the antigen against which an immuneresponse is sought.

The amino acid sequences of the polypeptide moities described herein,including those exemplified polypeptides set forth in SEQ ID Nos: 5-16and SEQ ID Nos: 103-112, may be modified for particular purposesaccording to methods well known to those of skill in the art withoutadversely affecting their immune function. For example, particularpeptide residues may be derivatized or chemically modified in order toenhance the immune response or to permit coupling of the peptide toother agents, particularly lipids. It also is possible to changeparticular amino acids within the peptides without disturbing theoverall structure or antigenicity of the peptide. Such changes aretherefore termed “conservative” changes and tend to rely on thehydrophilicity or polarity of the residue. The size and/or charge of theside chains also are relevant factors in determining which substitutionsare conservative.

It is well understood by the skilled artisan that, inherent in thedefinition of a biologically functional equivalent protein or peptide,is the concept that there is a limit to the number of changes that maybe made within a defined portion of the molecule and still result in amolecule with an acceptable level of equivalent biological activity.Biologically functional equivalent peptides are thus defined herein asthose peptides in which specific amino acids may be substituted.Particular embodiments encompass variants that have one, two, three,four, five or more variations in the amino acid sequence of the peptide.Of course, a plurality of distinct proteins/peptides with differentsubstitutions may easily be made and used in accordance with theinvention.

Those skilled in the art are well aware that the following substitutionsare permissible conservative substitutions (i) substitutions involvingarginine, lysine and histidine; (ii) substitutions involving alanine,glycine and serine; and (iii) substitutions involving phenylalanine,tryptophan and tyrosine. Peptides incorporating such conservativesubstitutions are defined herein as biologically functional equivalents.

The importance of the hydropathic amino acid index in conferringinteractive biological function on a protein is generally understood inthe art (Kyte & Doolittle, J. Mol. Biol. 157, 105-132, 1982). It isknown that certain amino acids may be substituted for other amino acidshaving a similar hydropathic index or score and still retain a similarbiological activity. The hydropathic index of amino acids also may beconsidered in determining a conservative substitution that produces afunctionally equivalent molecule. Each amino acid has been assigned ahydropathic index on the basis of their hydrophobicity and chargecharacteristics, as follows: isoleucine (+4.5); valine (+4.2); leucine(+3.8); phenylalanine (+2.8); cysteine/cystine (+2.5); methionine(+1.9); alanine (+1.8); glycine (−0.4); threonine (−0.7); serine (−0.8);tryptophan (−0.9); tyrosine (−1.3); proline (−1.6); histidine (−3.2);glutamate (−3.5); glutamine (−3.5); aspartate (−3.5); asparagine (−3.5);lysine (−3.9); and arginine (−4.5). In making changes based upon thehydropathic index, the substitution of amino acids whose hydropathicindices are within .+/−0.2 is preferred. More preferably, thesubstitution will involve amino acids having hydropathic indices within.+/−0.1, and more preferably within about +/−0.05.

It is also understood in the art that the substitution of like aminoacids is made effectively on the basis of hydrophilicity, particularlywhere the biological functional equivalent protein or peptide therebycreated is intended for use in immunological embodiments, as in thepresent case (e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 4,554,101), As detailed in U.S. Pat.No. 4,554,101, the following hydrophilicity values have been assigned toamino acid residues: arginine (+3.0); lysine (+3.0); aspartate(+3.0+/−0.1); glutamate (+3.0+/−0.1); serine (+0.3); asparagine (+0.2);glutamine (+0.2); glycine (0); threonine (−0.4); proline (−0.5+/−0.1);alanine (−0.5); histidine (−0.5); cysteine (−1.0); methionine (−1.3);valine (−1.5); leucine (−1.8); isoleucine (−1.8); tyrosine (−2.3);phenylalanine (−2.5); tryptophan (−3.4). In making changes based uponsimilar hydrophilicity values, it is preferred to substitute amino acidshaving hydrophilicity values within about +/−0.2 of each other, morepreferably within about +/−0.1, and even more preferably within about+/−0.05.

Having identified peptides suitable for use as immunogens, it also iscontemplated that other sterically similar compounds may be formulatedto mimic the key portions of the peptide structure. Such compounds,which may be termed peptidomimetics, may be used in the same manner asthe peptides of the invention and hence are also functional equivalents.The generation of a structural functional equivalent may be achieved bythe techniques of modeling and chemical design known to those of skillin the art. It will be understood that all such sterically similarconstructs fall within the scope of the present invention.

Another method for determining the “equivalence” of modified peptidesinvolves a functional approach. For example, a given peptide is used togenerate monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies. These antibodies can then,in turn, be used to screen libraries of degenerate peptides that includethousands or hundreds of thousands of other peptides, therebyidentifying structures that are, at least to a certain extent,immunologically equivalent. Of course, these structures may bear someprimary sequence homology to the peptide used to generate theantibodies, but they also may be quite different.

The polypeptide moiety is readily synthesized using standard techniques,such as the Merrifield method of synthesis (Merrifield, J Am Chem Soc,85:2149-2154, 1963) and the myriad of available improvements on thattechnology (see e.g., Synthetic Peptides: A User's Guide, Grant, ed.(1992) W.H. Freeman & Co., New York, pp. 382; Jones (1994) The ChemicalSynthesis of Peptides, Clarendon Press, Oxford, pp. 230.); Barany, G.and Merrifield, R. B. (1979) in The Peptides (Gross, E. and Meienhofer,J. eds.), vol. 2, pp. 1-284, Academic Press, New York; Wünsch, E., ed.(1974) Synthese von Peptiden in Houben-Weyls Methoden der OrganischenChemie (Müler, E., ed.), vol. 15, 4th edn., Parts 1 and 2, Thieme,Stuttgart; Bodanszky, M. (1984) Principles of Peptide Synthesis,Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg; Bodanszky, M. & Bodanszky, A. (1984) ThePractice of Peptide Synthesis, Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg; Bodanszky,M. (1985) Int J. Peptide Protein Res. 25, 449-474.

The lipid moiety may comprise any C₂ to C₃₀ saturated, monounsaturated,or polyunsaturated linear or branched fatty acyl group, and preferably afatty acid group selected from the group consisting of: palmitoyl,myristoyl, stearoyl, lauroyl, octanoyl, and decanoyl.

Lipoamino acids are particularly preferred lipid moieties within thepresent context. As used herein, the term “lipoamino acid” refers to amolecule comprising one or two or three or more lipids covalentlyattached to an amino acid residue, such as, for example, cysteine orserine or lysine or an analog thereof. In a particularly preferredembodiment, the lipoamino acid comprises cysteine and optionally, one ortwo or more arginine or serine residues, or alternatively,6-aminohexanoic acid.

The lipid moiety is preferably a compound having a structure of GeneralFormula (VII):

wherein:

-   (i) X is selected from the group consisting of sulfur, oxygen,    disulfide (—S—S—), methylene (—CH₂—), and amino (—NH—);-   (ii) m is an integer being 1 or 2;-   (iii) n is an integer from 0 to 5;-   (iv) R₁ is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, carbonyl    (—CO—), and R′—CO— wherein R′ is selected from the group consisting    of alkyl having 7 to 25 carbon atoms, alkenyl having 7 to 25 carbon    atoms, and alkynyl having 7 to 25 carbon atoms, wherein said alkyl,    alkenyl or alkynyl group is optionally substituted by a hydroxyl,    amino, oxo, acyl, or cycloalkyl group;-   (v) R₂ is selected from the group consisting of R′—CO—O—, R′—O—,    R′—O—CO—, R′—NH—CO—, and R′—CO—NH—, wherein R′ is selected from the    group consisting of alkyl having 7 to 25 carbon atoms, alkenyl    having 7 to 25 carbon atoms, and alkynyl having 7 to 25 carbon    atoms, wherein said alkyl, alkenyl or alkynyl group is optionally    substituted by a hydroxyl, amino, oxo, acyl, or cycloalkyl group;    and-   (vi) R₃ is selected from the group consisting of R′—CO—O—, R′—O—,    R′—O—CO—, R′—NH—CO—, and R′—CO—NH—, wherein R′ is selected from the    group consisting of alkyl having 7 to 25 carbon atoms, alkenyl    having 7 to 25 carbon atoms, and alkynyl having 7 to 25 carbon    atoms, wherein said alkyl, alkenyl or alkynyl group is optionally    substituted by a hydroxyl, amino, oxo, acyl, or cycloalkyl group    and wherein each of R₁, R₂ and R₃ are the same or different.

Depending upon the substituent, the lipid moiety of general structureVII may be a chiral molecule, wherein the carbon atoms directly orindirectly covalently bound to integers R₁ and R₂ are asymmetricdextrorotatory or levorotatory (i.e. an R or S) configuration.

Preferably, X is sulfur; m and n are both 1; R₁ is selected from thegroup consisting of hydrogen, and R′—CO—, wherein R′ is an alkyl grouphaving 7 to 25 carbon atoms; and R₂ and R₃ are selected from the groupconsisting of R′—CO—O—, R′—O—, R′—O—CO—, R′—NH—CO—, and R′—CO—NH—,wherein R′ is an alkyl group having 7 to 25 carbon atoms.

Preferably, R′ is selected from the group consisting of: palmitoyl,myristoyl, stearoyl, lauroyl, octanoyl, and decanoyl. More preferably,R′ is selected from the group consisting of: palmitoyl, stearoyl,lauroyl, and octanoyl, and decanoyl.

Each integer R′ in said lipid moiety may be the same or different.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, X is sulfur, m and n are both 1;R₁ is hydrogen or R′—CO— wherein R′ is selected from the groupconsisting of: palmitoyl, stearoyl, lauroyl, and octanoyl; and R₂ and R₃are each R′—CO—O— wherein R′ is selected from the group consisting of:palmitoyl, stearoyl, lauroyl, and octanoyl. Particularly preferredcompounds wherein R′ is palmitoyl are shown by Formula (I) and Formula(II) supra.

The lipid moiety can also have the following General Formula (VIII):

wherein:

-   (i) R₄ is selected from the group consisting of: (i) an    alpha-acyl-fatty acid residue consisting of between about 7 and    about 25 carbon atoms; (ii) an alpha-alkyl-beta-hydroxy-fatty acid    residue; (iii) a beta-hydroxy ester of an    alpha-alkyl-beta-hydroxy-fatty acid residue wherein the ester group    is preferably a straight chain or branched chain comprising more    than 8 carbon atoms; and (iv) a lipoamino acid residue; and-   (ii) R₅ is hydrogen or the side chain of an amino acid residue.

Preferably, R₄ consists of between about 10 and about 20 carbon atoms,and more preferably between about 14 and about 18 carbon atoms.

Optionally, wherein R₄ is a lipoamino acid residue, the side-chain ofthe integers R₄ and R₅ can form a covalent linkage. For example, whereinR₄ comprises an amino acid selected from the group consisting of lysine,ornithine, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, a derivative of lysine, aderivative of ornithine, a derivative of glutamic acid, and a derivativeof aspartic acid, then the side chain of that amino acid or derivativeis covalently attached, by virtue of an amide or ester linkage, to R₅.

Preferably, the structure set forth in General Formula VIII is a lipidmoiety selected from the group consisting of: N,N′-diacyllysine;N,N′-diacylornithine; di(monoalkyl)amide or ester of glutamic acid;di(monoalkyl)amide or ester of aspartic acid; a N,O-diacyl derivative ofserine, homoserine, or threonine; and a N,S-diacyl derivative ofcysteine or homocysteine.

Amphipathic molecules, particularly those having a hydrophobicity notexceeding the hydrophobicity of Pam₃Cys (Formula (I)) are alsopreferred.

The lipid moieties of Formula (I), Formula (II), Formula (VI) or Formula(VIII) are further modified during synthesis or post-synthetically, bythe addition of one or more spacer molecules, preferably a spacer thatcomprises carbon, and more preferably one or more amino acid residues.These are conveniently added to the lipid structure via the terminalcarboxy group in a conventional condensation, addition, substitution, oroxidation reaction. The effect of such a spacer molecule is to separatethe lipid moiety from the polypeptide moiety to reduce steric hindranceeffects that might otherwise reduce immunogenicity of the lipopeptideproduct.

Arginine or serine dimers, trimers, tetramers, etc, or alternatively,6-aminohexanoic acid, are particularly preferred for this purpose.

Preferably, such spacers include a terminal protected amino acid residueto facilitate the later conjugation of the modified lipoamino acid tothe polypeptide.

Exemplary modified lipoamino acids produced according to this embodimentare presented as Formulae (III) and (IV), which are readily derived fromFormulae (I) and (II), respectively by the addition of a serinehomodimer. As exemplified herein, Pam₃Cys of Formula (I), or Pam₂Cys ofFormula (II) is conveniently synthesized as the lipoamino acidsPam₃Cys-Ser-Ser of Formula (III), or Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser of Formula (IV) forthis purpose.

As an alternative to the addition of a spacer to the lipid moiety, thespacer may be added to the epsilon amino group of the internal lysineresidue or to the terminal side-chain group of a lysine analog in thepolypeptide moiety, either as a short peptide, such as, for example anarginine or serine homodimer, homotrimer, homotetramer, etc, oralternatively, by the sequential addition of amino acid residues,thereby producing a branched polypeptide chain. This approach takesadvantage of the modified nature of the epsilon amino group on theinternal lysine residue or to the terminal side-chain group of a lysineanalog, as appropriate, to achieve specificity in the addition of thespacer. Naturally, to avoid sequential spacer addition, the terminalamino acid residue of the spacer should preferably be protected, suchthat de-protection can facilitate conjugation of the lipid moiety to thebranched polypeptide.

Alternatively, the spacer may be added to a non-modified epsilon aminogroup of the polypeptide by conventional nucleophilic substitutionreaction. However, it is preferred to follow this approach if thepolypeptide has an amino acid sequence comprising a single internallysine or lysine analog residue and a blocked N-terminus.

The lipid moiety is prepared by conventional synthetic means, such as,for example, the methods described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,700,910 and6,024,964, or alternatively, the method described by Wiesmuller et al.,Hoppe Seylers Zur Physiol. Chem. 364, 593 (1983), Zeng et al., J. PeptSci 2, 66 (1996), Jones et al., Xenobiotica 5, 155 (1975), or Metzger etal., Int. J. Pept. Protein Res. 38, 545 (1991). Those skilled in the artwill be readily able to modify such methods to achieve the synthesis ofa desired lipid for use conjugation to a polypeptide.

Combinations of different lipids are also contemplated for use in thelipopeptides of the invention. For example, one or twomyristoyl-containing lipids or lipoamino acids are attached via internallysine or lysine analog residues to the polypeptide moiety, optionallyseparated from the polypeptide by a spacer. Other combinations are notexcluded.

The lipopeptides of the invention are readily modified for diagnosticpurposes. For example, it is modified by addition of a natural orsynthetic hapten, an antibiotic, hormone, steroid, nucleoside,nucleotide, nucleic acid, an enzyme, enzyme substrate, an enzymeinhibitor, biotin, avidin, polyethylene glycol, a peptidic polypeptidemoiety (e.g. tuftsin, polylysine), a fluorescence marker (e.g. FITC,RITC, dansyl, luminol or coumarin), a bioluminescence marker, a spinlabel, an alkaloid, biogenic amine, vitamin, toxin (e.g. digoxin,phalloidin, amanitin, tetrodotoxin), or a complex-forming agent.

As exemplified herein, highly immunogenic and soluble lipopeptides areprovided comprising Pam₃Cys of Formula (I), or Pam₂Cys of Formula (II)or Ste₂Cys or Lau₂Cys or Oct₂Cys conjugated via the epsilon amino groupof an internal lysine residue of a polypeptide that comprises: (i) theamino acid sequence of a CD4⁺ T-helper epitope derived from the lightchain of influenza virus hemagglutinin (Jackson et al. Virol. 198,613-623, 1994; i.e. amino acid sequence GALNNRFQIKGVELKS; SEQ ID NO:1)or a peptide derived from the CDV-F protein (SEQ ID NO: 24); (ii) aB-cell epitope-containing peptide comprising an amino acid sequenceselected from the group consisting of the amino acid sequence ofluteinising hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH; Fraser et al., J.Endocrinol. 63, 399 (1974); Fraser and Baker, J. Endocrinol. 77, 85(1978); i.e. “LHRH 1-10”, amino acid sequence EHWSYGLRPG; SEQ ID NO: 2;“LHRH 2-10”, amino acid sequence HWSYGLRPG; SEQ ID NO: 3; or “LHRH6-10”, amino acid sequence GLRPG; SEQ ID NO: 4), Group A Streptococcus(GAS) M protein (i.e., SEQ ID NO: 101), and pentagastrin (i.e., SEQ IDNO: 102); (iii) a lysine residue positioned between said CD4⁺ T-helperepitope and said B-cell epitope; and optionally (iv) a lysine residuepositioned within said CD4⁺ T-helper epitope.

Preparation of Lipopeptides

A second aspect of the invention provides a method of producing alipopeptide comprising:

-   (i) producing a polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence that    comprises:    -   (a) the amino acid sequence of a T helper cell (Th) epitope and        the amino acid sequence of a B cell epitope, wherein said amino        acid sequences are different; and    -   (b) one or more internal lysine residues or internal lysine        analog residues; and-   (iii) covalently attaching each of said one or more lipid moieties    directly or indirectly to an epsilon-amino group of said one or more    internal lysine residues or to the terminal side-chain group of said    one or more internal lysine analog residues so as to produce a    lipopeptide having the lipid moiety attached to the epsilon amino    group of said internal lysine residue or having the lipid moiety    attached to the terminal side-chain group of said internal lysine    analog residue.

Preferably, the method further comprises production of the lipid moiety.

Conventional chemical syntheses referred to herein are the preferredmeans for producing the polypeptide moiety and the lipid moiety.

Preferably, the internal lysine residue or internal lysine analog ismodified by selective removal of a blocking group (eg: Mtt) from theterminal side-chain group, particularly from the terminal side-chainamino group, so as to permit the addition of an amino acid residue, aspacer or lipid moiety, including a lipoamino acid, at that position.

For attachment of the lipid to the polypeptide, it is convenient for thefunctional groups of the polypeptide to be protected in a manner knownin the art of peptide synthesis, to ensure that no undesirable reactionsat those groups takes place at a significant reaction rate.

By known coupling processes, the polypeptide is synthesized on a solidor soluble carrier, such as a polymer (for example Merrifield resin) andmade available for conjugation to a spacer, amino acid, or lipid. Forexample, the epsilon amino group of the internal lysine or the terminalside-chain group of an internal lysine analog is protected by one of anumber of protecting groups. Blocking groups (also called protectinggroups or masking groups) are used to protect the amino group of theamino acid having an activated carboxyl group that is involved in thecoupling reaction, or to protect the carboxyl group of the amino acidhaving an acylated amino group that is involved in the couplingreaction. For coupling to occur, a blocking group must be removedwithout disrupting a peptide bond, or any protecting group attached toanother part of the peptide.

For solid phase peptide synthesis, blocking groups that are stable tothe repeated treatments necessary for removal of the amino blockinggroup of the growing peptide chain and for repeated amino acidcouplings, are used for protecting the amino acid side-chains.Additionally, the peptide-resin anchorage that protects the C-terminusof the peptide must be protected throughout the synthetic process untilcleavage from the resin is required. Accordingly, by the judiciousselection of orthogonally protected alpha-amino acids, lipids and/oramino acids are added at desired locations to a growing peptide whilstit is still attached to the resin.

Preferred amino blocking groups are easily removable but sufficientlystable to survive conditions for the coupling reaction and othermanipulations, such as, for example, modifications to the side-chaingroups. Preferred amino blocking groups are selected from the groupconsisting of: (i) a benzyloxycarbonyl group (Z or carbobenzoxy) that isremoved easily by catalytic hydrogenation at room temperature andordinary pressure, or using sodium in liquid ammonia and hydrobromicacid in acetic acid; (ii) a t-Butoxycarbonyl group (Boc) that isintroduced using t-butoxycarbonyl azide or di-tert-butyldicarbonate andremoved using mild acid such as, for example, trifluoroacetic acid (50%TFA in dichloromethane), or HCl in acetic acid/dioxane/ethylacetate;(iii) a 9-fluorenylmethyloxycarbonyl group (Fmoc) that is cleaved undermildly basic, non-hydrolytic conditions, such as, for example, using aprimary or secondary amine (eg. 20% piperidine in dimethyl formamide);(iv) a 2-(4-biphenylyl)propyl(2)oxycarbonyl group (Bpoc); (v) a2-nitro-phenylsulfenyl group (Nps); and (vi) a dithia-succionyl group(Dts).

Side chain-protecting groups will vary for the functional side chains ofthe amino acids forming the peptide being synthesized. Side-chainprotecting groups are generally based on the Bzl group or the tBu group.Amino acids having alcohols or carboxylic acids in the side-chain areprotected as Bzl ethers, Bzl esters, cHex esters, tBu ethers, or tBuesters. Side-chain protection of Fmoc amino acids requires blockinggroups that are ideally base stable and weak acid (TFA) labile. Forexample, the epsilon-amino group of lysine is protected using Mtt (eg.Fmoc-lysine(Mtt)-OH). Alternatively, a halogenated benzyl derivativesuch as ClZ is used to protect the lysine side chain should enhancedacid stability be required. The thiol group of Cystine, the imidazole ofHistidine, or guanidino group of Arginine, generally require specialisedprotection. Many different protecting groups for peptide synthesis havebeen described (see The Peptides, Gross et al. eds., Vol. 3, AcademicPress, New York, 1981).

The two most widely used protection strategies are the Boc/Bzl- and theFmoc/tBu-strategies. In Boc/Bzl, Boc is used for amino protection andthe side-chains of the various amino acids are protected using Bzl- orcHex-based protecting groups. A Boc group is stable under catalytichydrogenation conditions and is used orthogonally along with a Z groupfor protection of many side chain groups. In Fmoc/tBu, Fmoc is used foramino protection and the side-chains are protected with tBu-basedprotecting groups.

Peptides are lipidated by methods well known in the art. Standardcondensation, addition, substitution or oxidation (e.g. disulfide bridgeformation or amide bond formation between a terminal amino group on theinternal lysine or internal lysine analog with the carboxy terminalgroup of an incoming amino acid or peptide or lipoamino acid) reactionsresult in the addition of lipid to the polypeptide.

In an alternative embodiment, a peptide of the present invention for useas an immunogen is produced by chemoselective ligation or chemicalconjugation. Such methods are well-known in the art, and allow for theindividual peptide components to be produced by chemical or recombinantmeans, followed by their chemoselective ligation in an appropriateconfiguration or conformation or order (eg. Nardin et al, Vaccine 16,590 (1998); Nardin et al., J. Immunol. 166, 481 (2001); Rose et al.,Mol. Immunol. 32, 1031 (1995); Rose et al., Bioconjug. Chem 7, 552(1996); and Zeng et al, Vaccine 18, 1031 (2000), which are incorporatedherein by reference).

Lipopeptide Formulations

-   -   The lipopeptide is conveniently formulated in a pharmaceutically        acceptable excipient or diluent, such as, for example, an        aqueous solvent, non-aqueous solvent, non-toxic excipient, such        as a salt, preservative, buffer and the like. Examples of        non-aqueous solvents are propylene glycol, polyethylene glycol,        vegetable oil and injectable organic esters such as ethyloleate.        Aqueous solvents include water, alcoholic/aqueous solutions,        saline solutions, parenteral vehicles such as sodium chloride,        Ringers dextrose, etc. Preservatives include antimicrobial,        anti-oxidants, chelating agents and inert gases. The pH and        exact concentration of the various components the pharmaceutical        composition are adjusted according to routine skills in the art.

The addition of an extrinsic adjuvant to the lipopeptide formulation,although generally not required, is also encompassed by the invention.Such extrinsic adjuvants include all acceptable immunostimulatorycompounds such as, for example, a cytokine, toxin, or syntheticcomposition. Exemplary adjuvants include IL-1, IL-2, BCG, aluminumhydroxide, N-acetyl-muramyl-L-threonyl-D-isoglutamine (thur-MDP),N-acetyl-nor-muramyl-L-alanyl-D-isoglutamine (CGP 11637, referred to asnor-MDP),N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanyl-D-isoglutaminyl-L-alanine-2-(1′-2′-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-hydroxyphosphoryloxy)-ethylamine(CGP) 1983A, referred to as MTP-PE), lipid A, MPL and RIBI, whichcontains three components extracted from bacteria, monophosphoryl lipidA, trehalose dimycolate and cell wall skeleton (MPL+TDM+CWS) in a 2%squalene/Tween 80 emulsion.

It may be desirable to co-administer biologic response modifiers (BRM)with the lipopeptide, to down regulate suppressor T cell activity.Exemplary BRM's include, but are not limited to, Cimetidine (CIM; 1200mg/d) (Smith/Kline, PA, USA); Indomethacin (IND; 150 mg/d) (Lederle, NJ,USA); or low-dose Cyclophosphamide (CYP; 75, 150 or 300 mg/m.sup.2)(Johnson/Mead, NJ, USA).

Use of the Lipopeptide in Immunization

The novel lipopeptides of the invention differ in essential aspects fromknown lipopeptide conjugates of antigens in their enhanced solubilityand immunogenicity, and their ability to elicit immune responses withoutthe administration of additional adjuvant. Accordingly, a particularutility of the lipopeptides of the present invention is in the fields ofantibody production, synthetic vaccine preparation, diagnostic methodsemploying antibodies and antibody ligands, and immunotherapy forveterinary and human medicine.

More particularly, the lipopeptide of the present invention induces thespecific production of a high titer antibody against the B cell epitopemoiety when administered to an animal subject, without any requirementfor an adjuvant to achieve a similar antibody titer. This utility issupported by the enhanced maturation of dendritic cells followingadministration of the subject lipopeptides (i.e. enhanced antigenpresentation compared to lipopeptides having N-terminally coupledlipid).

Accordingly, a third aspect of the invention provides a method ofeliciting the production of antibody against an antigenic B cell epitopecomprising administering an isolated lipopeptide comprising apolypeptide conjugated to one or more lipid moieties to said subject fora time and under conditions sufficient to elicit the production ofantibodies against said antigenic B cell epitope, wherein:

-   -   (i) said polypeptide comprises:        -   (a) the amino acid sequence of a T helper cell (Th) epitope            and the amino acid sequence of a B cell epitope, wherein            said amino acid sequences are different; and        -   (b) one or more internal lysine residues or internal lysine            analog residues for covalent attachment of each of said            lipid moieties via an epsilon-amino group of said internal            lysine or via a terminal side-chain group of said internal            lysine analog; and    -   (ii) each of said one or more lipid moieties is covalently        attached directly or Indirectly to an epsilon-amino group of        said one or more internal lysine residues or to a terminal        side-chain group of said one or more internal lysine analog        residues.

The effective amount of lipopeptide used in the production of antibodiesvaries upon the nature of the immunogenic B cell epitope, the route ofadministration, the animal used for immunization, and the nature of theantibody sought. All such variables are empirically determined byart-recognized means.

Reference herein to antibody or antibodies includes whole polyclonal andmonoclonal antibodies, and parts thereof, either alone or conjugatedwith other moieties. Antibody parts include Fab and F(ab)₂ fragments andsingle chain antibodies. The antibodies may be made in vivo in suitablelaboratory animals, or, in the case of engineered antibodies (SingleChain Antibodies or SCABS, etc) using recombinant DNA techniques invitro.

In accordance with this aspect of the invention, the antibodies may beproduced for the purposes of immunizing the subject, in which case hightiter or neutralizing antibodies that bind to the B cell epitope will beespecially preferred. Suitable subjects for immunization will, ofcourse, depend upon the immunizing antigenic B cell epitope. It iscontemplated that the present invention will be broadly applicable tothe immunization of a wide range of animals, such as, for example, farmanimals (e.g. horses, cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, chickens, ducks,turkeys, and the like), laboratory animals (e.g. rats, mice, guineapigs, rabbits), domestic animals (cats, dogs, birds and the like), feralor wild exotic animals (e.g. possums, cats, pigs, buffalo, wild dogs andthe like) and humans.

Alternatively, the antibodies may be for commercial or diagnosticpurposes, in which case the subject to whom the lipopeptide isadministered will most likely be a laboratory or farm animal. A widerange of animal species are used for the production of antisera.Typically the animal used for production of antisera is a rabbit, amouse, rat, hamster, guinea pig, goat, sheep, pig, dog, horse, orchicken. Because of the relatively large blood volume of rabbits, arabbit is a preferred choice for production of polyclonal antibodies.However, as will be known to those skilled in the art, larger amounts ofimmunogen are required to obtain high antibodies from large animals asopposed to smaller animals such as mice. In such cases, it will bedesirable to isolate the antibody from the immunized animal.

Preferably, the antibody is a high titer antibody. By “high titer” meansa sufficiently high titer to be suitable for use in diagnostic ortherapeutic applications. As will be known in the art, there is somevariation in what might be considered “high titer”. For mostapplications a titer of at least about 10³-10⁴ is preferred. Morepreferably, the antibody titer will be in the range from about 10⁴ toabout 10⁵, even more preferably in the range from about 10⁵ to about10⁶.

More preferably, in the case of B cell epitopes from pathogens, virusesor bacteria, the antibody is a neutralizing antibody (i.e. it is capableof neutralizing the infectivity of the organism fro which the B cellepitope is derived).

To generate antibodies, the lipopeptide, optionally formulated with anysuitable or desired carrier, adjuvant, BRM, or pharmaceuticallyacceptable excipient, is conveniently administered in the form of aninjectable composition. Injection may be intranasal, intramuscular,sub-cutaneous, intravenous, intradermal, intraperitoneal, or by otherknown route. The lipopeptides of the present invention have demonstratedefficacy when administered Intranasally. For intravenous injection, itis desirable to include one or more fluid and nutrient replenishers.Means for preparing and characterizing antibodies are well known in theart. (See, e.g., ANTIBODIES: A LABORATORY MANUAL, Cold Spring HarborLaboratory, 1988, incorporated herein by reference).

The efficacy of the lipopeptide in producing an antibody is establishedby immunizing an animal, for example, a mouse, rat, rabbit, guinea pig,dog, horse, cow, goat or pig, with a formulation comprising thelipopeptide, and then monitoring the immune response to the B cellepitope, as described in the Examples. Both primary and secondary immuneresponses are monitored. The antibody titer is determined using anyconventional immunoassay, such as, for example, ELISA, or radioimmunoassay.

The production of polyclonal antibodies may be monitored by samplingblood of the immunized animal at various points following immunization.A second, booster injection, may be given, if required to achieve adesired antibody titer. The process of boosting and titering is repeateduntil a suitable titer is achieved. When a desired level ofimmunogenicity is obtained, the immunized animal is bled and the serumisolated and stored, and/or the animal is used to generate monoclonalantibodies (Mabs).

For the production of monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) any one of a numberof well-known techniques may be used, such as, for example, theprocedure exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 4,196,265, incorporated herein byreference.

For example, a suitable animal will be immunized with an effectiveamount of the lipopeptide of the invention and under conditionssufficient to stimulate antibody producing cells. Rodents such as miceand rats are preferred animals, however, the use of rabbit, sheep, orfrog cells is also possible. The use of rats may provide certainadvantages, but mice are preferred, with the BALB/c mouse being mostpreferred as the most routinely used animal and one that generally givesa higher percentage of stable fusions.

Following immunization, somatic cells capable of producing antibodies,specifically B lymphocytes (B cells), are selected for use in the MAbgenerating protocol. These cells may be obtained from biopsied spleens,tonsils or lymph nodes, or from a peripheral blood sample. Spleen cellsand peripheral blood cells are preferred, the former because they are arich source of antibody-producing cells that are in the dividingplasmablast stage, and the latter because peripheral blood is easilyaccessible. Often, a panel of animals will have been immunized and thespleen of animal with the highest antibody titer removed. Spleenlymphocytes are obtained by homogenizing the spleen with a syringe.Typically, a spleen from an immunized mouse contains approximately 5×10⁷to 2×10⁸ lymphocytes.

The B cells from the immunized animal are then fused with cells of animmortal myeloma cell, generally derived from the same species as theanimal that was immunized with the lipopeptide formulation. Myeloma celllines suited for use in hybridoma-producing fusion procedures preferablyare non-antibody-producing, have high fusion efficiency and enzymedeficiencies that render then incapable of growing in certain selectivemedia which support the growth of only the desired fused cells, orhybridomas. Any one of a number of myeloma cells may be used and theseare known to those of skill in the art (e.g. murine P3-X63/Ag8,X63-Ag8.653, NS1/1.Ag 4 1, Sp210-Ag14, FO, NSO/U, MPC-11, MPC11-X45-GTG1.7 and S194/5XX0; or rat R210.RCY3, Y3-Ag 1.2.3, IR983F and 4B210; andU-266, GM1500-GRG2, LICR-LON-HMy2 and UC729-6). A preferred murinemyeloma cell is the NS-1 myeloma cell line (also termed P3-NS-1-Ag-4-1),which is readily available from the NIGMS Human Genetic Mutant CellRepository under Accession No. GM3573. Alternatively, a murine myelomaSP2/0 non-producer cell line which is 8-azaguanine-resistant is used.

To generate hybrids of antibody-producing spleen or lymph node cells andmyeloma cells, somatic cells are mixed with myeloma cells in aproportion between about 20:1 to about 1:1, respectively, in thepresence of an agent or agents (chemical or electrical) that promote thefusion of cell membranes. Fusion methods using Sendai virus have beendescribed by Kohler and Milstein, Nature 256, 495-497, 1975; and Kohlerand Milstein, Eur. J. Immunol. 6, 511-519, 1976. Methods usingpolyethylene glycol (PEG), such as 37% (v/v) PEG, are described indetail by Gefter et al., Somatic Cell Genet 3, 231-236, 1977. The use ofelectrically induced fusion methods is also appropriate.

Hybrids are amplified by culture in a selective medium comprising anagent that blocks the de novo synthesis of nucleotides in the tissueculture media. Exemplary and preferred agents are aminopterin,methotrexate and azaserine. Aminopterin and methotrexate block de novosynthesis of both purines and pyrimidines, whereas azaserine blocks onlypurine synthesis. Where aminopterin or methotrexate is used, the mediais supplemented with hypoxanthine and thymidine as a source ofnucleotides (HAT medium). Where azaserine is used, the media issupplemented with hypoxanthine.

The preferred selection medium is HAT, because only those hybridomascapable of operating nucleotide salvage pathways are able to survive inHAT medium, whereas myeloma cells are defective in key enzymes of thesalvage pathway, (e.g., hypoxanthine phosphoribosyl transferase orHPRT), and they cannot survive. B cells can operate this salvagepathway, but they have a limited life span in culture and generally diewithin about two weeks. Accordingly, the only cells that can survive inthe selective media are those hybrids formed from myeloma and B cells.

The amplified hybridomas are subjected to a functional selection forantibody specificity and/or titer, such as, for example, by immunoassay(e.g. radioimmunoassay, enzyme immunoassay, cytotoxicity assay, plaqueassay, dot immunobinding assay, and the like).

The selected hybridomas are serially diluted and cloned into individualantibody-producing cell lines, which clones can then be propagatedindefinitely to provide MAbs. The cell lines may be exploited for MAbproduction in two basic ways. A sample of the hybridoma is injected,usually in the peritoneal cavity, into a histocompatible animal of thetype that was used to provide the somatic and myeloma cells for theoriginal fusion. The injected animal develops tumors secreting thespecific monoclonal antibody produced by the fused cell hybrid. The bodyfluids of the animal, such as serum or ascites fluid, can then be tappedto provide MAbs in high concentration. The individual cell lines couldalso be cultured in vitro, where the MAbs are naturally secreted intothe culture medium from which they are readily obtained in highconcentrations. MAbs produced by either means may be further purified,if desired, using filtration, centrifugation and various chromatographicmethods such as HPLC or affinity chromatography.

Monoclonal antibodies of the present invention also includeanti-idiotypic antibodies produced by methods well-known in the art.Monoclonal antibodies according to the present invention also may bemonoclonal heteroconjugates, (i.e., hybrids of two or more antibodymolecules). In another embodiment, monoclonal antibodies according tothe invention are chimeric monoclonal antibodies. In one approach, thechimeric monoclonal antibody is engineered by cloning recombinant DNAcontaining the promoter, leader, and variable-region sequences from amouse anti-PSA producing cell and the constant-region exons from a humanantibody gene. The antibody encoded by such a recombinant gene is amouse-human chimera. Its antibody specificity is determined by thevariable region derived from mouse sequences. Its isotype, which isdetermined by the constant region, is derived from human DNA.

In another embodiment, monoclonal antibodies according to the presentinvention is a “humanized” monoclonal antibody, produced by techniqueswell-known in the art. That is, mouse complementary determining regions(“CDRs”) are transferred from heavy and light V-chains of the mouse Iginto a human V-domain, followed by the replacement of some humanresidues in the framework regions of their murine counterparts.“Humanized” monoclonal antibodies in accordance with this invention areespecially suitable for use in in vivo diagnostic and therapeuticmethods.

As stated above, the monoclonal antibodies and fragments thereofaccording to this invention are multiplied according to in vitro and invivo methods well-known in the art. Multiplication in vitro is carriedout in suitable culture media such as Dulbecco's modified Eagle mediumor RPMI 1640 medium, optionally replenished by a mammalian serum such asfetal calf serum or trace elements and growth-sustaining supplements,e.g., feeder cells, such as normal mouse peritoneal exudate cells,spleen cells, bone marrow macrophages or the like. In vitro productionprovides relatively pure antibody preparations and allows scale-up togive large amounts of the desired antibodies. Techniques for large scalehybridoma cultivation under tissue culture conditions are known in theart and include homogenous suspension culture, (e.g., in an airliftreactor or in a continuous stirrer reactor or immobilized or entrappedcell culture).

Large amounts of the monoclonal antibody of the present invention alsomay be obtained by multiplying hybridoma cells in vivo. Cell clones areinjected into mammals which are histocompatible with the parent cells,(e.g., syngeneic mice, to cause growth of antibody-producing tumors.Optionally, the animals are primed with a hydrocarbon, especially oilssuch as Pristane (tetramethylpentadecane) prior to injection.

In accordance with the present invention, fragments of the monoclonalantibody of the invention are obtained from monoclonal antibodiesproduced as described above, by methods which include digestion withenzymes such as pepsin or papain and/or cleavage of disulfide bonds bychemical reduction.

The monoclonal conjugates of the present invention are prepared bymethods known in the art, e.g., by reacting a monoclonal antibodyprepared as described above with, for instance, an enzyme in thepresence of a coupling agent such as glutaraldehyde or periodate.Conjugates with fluorescein markers are prepared in the presence ofthese coupling agents, or by reaction with an isothiocyanate. Conjugateswith metal chelates are similarly produced. Other moieties to whichantibodies may be conjugated include radionuclides such as, for example,³H, ¹²⁵I, ³²P, ³⁵S, ¹⁴C, ⁵¹Cr, ³⁶Cl, ⁵⁷Co, ⁵⁸Co, ⁵⁹Fe, ⁷⁵Se, and ¹⁵²Eu.Radioactively labeled monoclonal antibodies of the present invention areproduced according to well-known methods in the art. For instance,monoclonal antibodies are iodinated by contact with sodium or potassiumiodide and a chemical oxidizing agent such as sodium hypochlorite, or anenzymatic oxidizing agent, such as lactoperoxidase. Monoclonalantibodies according to the invention may be labeled with technetium⁹⁹by ligand exchange process, for example, by reducing pertechnate withstannous solution, chelating the reduced technetium onto a Sephadexcolumn and is applying the antibody to this column or by direct labelingtechniques, (e.g., by incubating pertechnate, a reducing agent such asSNCl₂, a buffer solution such as sodium-potassium phthalate solution,and the antibody).

Any immunoassay may be used to monitor antibody production by thelipopeptide formulations. Immunoassays, in their most simple and directsense, are binding assays. Certain preferred immunoassays are thevarious types of enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) andradioimmunoassays (RIA) known in the art. Immunohistochemical detectionusing tissue sections is also particularly useful. However, it will bereadily appreciated that detection is not limited to such techniques,and Western blotting, dot blotting, FACS analyses, and the like may alsobe used.

Most preferably, the assay will be capable of generating quantitativeresults. For example, antibodies are tested in simple competitionassays. A known antibody preparation that binds to the B cell epitopeand the test antibody are incubated with an antigen compositioncomprising the B cell epitope, preferably in the context of the nativeantigen. “Antigen composition” as used herein means any composition thatcontains some version of the B cell epitope in an accessible form.Antigen-coated wells of an ELISA plate are particularly preferred. Inone embodiment, one would pre-mix the known antibodies with varyingamounts of the test antibodies (e.g., 1:1, 1:10 and 1:100) for a periodof time prior to applying to the antigen composition. If one of theknown antibodies is labeled, direct detection of the label bound to theantigen is possible; comparison to an unmixed sample assay willdetermine competition by the test antibody and, hence, cross-reactivity.Alternatively, using secondary antibodies specific for either the knownor test antibody, one will be able to determine competition.

An antibody that binds to the antigen composition will be able toeffectively compete for binding of the known antibody and thus willsignificantly reduce binding of the latter. The reactivity of the knownantibodies in the absence of any test antibody is the control. Asignificant reduction in reactivity in the presence of a test antibodyis indicative of a test antibody that binds to the B cell epitope (i.e.,it cross-reacts with the known antibody).

In one exemplary ELISA, the antibodies against the B cell epitope areimmobilized onto a selected surface exhibiting protein affinity, such asa well in a polystyrene microtiter plate. Then, a composition containingthe B cell epitope is added to the wells. After binding and washing toremove non-specifically bound immune complexes, the bound epitope may bedetected. Detection is generally achieved by the addition of a secondantibody that is known to bind to the B cell epitope and is linked to adetectable label. This type of ELISA is a simple “sandwich ELISA”.Detection may also be achieved by the addition of said second antibody,followed by the addition of a third antibody that has binding affinityfor the second antibody, with the third antibody being linked to adetectable label.

Induction of Sterility

An appropriately configured lipopeptide of the present inventioncomprising an antigenic B cell epitope of a reproductive hormone or ahormone receptor is capable of inducing infertility in a subject.

Accordingly, a further aspect of the invention provides a method ofinducing infertility in a subject comprising administering to saidsubject an isolated lipopeptide comprising a polypeptide conjugated toone or more lipid moieties, wherein:

-   -   (i) said polypeptide comprises:        -   (a) the amino acid sequence of a T helper cell (Th) epitope            and the amino acid sequence of a B cell epitope of a            reproductive hormone or hormone receptor, and wherein said            amino acid sequences are different; and        -   (b) one or more internal lysine residues or internal lysine            analog residues for covalent attachment of each of said            lipid moieties via an epsilon-amino group of said internal            lysine or via a terminal side-chain group of said internal            lysine analog; and    -   (ii) each of said one or more lipid moieties is covalently        attached directly or indirectly to an epsilon-amino group of        said one or more internal lysine residues or to a terminal        side-chain group of said one or more internal lysine analog        residues; and    -   (iii) said lipopeptide is administered for a time and under        conditions sufficient to elicit a humoral immune response        against said antigenic B cell epitope.

The lipopeptides may be administered in the form of any convenientlipopeptide formulation as described herein.

By “humoral immune response” means that a secondary immune response isgenerated against the B cell epitope sufficient to prevent oogenesis,spermatogenesis, fertilization, implantation, or embryo development.

Preferably, the humoral immunity generated includes a sustained level ofantibodies against the B cell epitope in the subject. By a “sustainedlevel of antibodies” is meant a sufficient level of circulatingantibodies against the B cell epitope to prevent oogenesis,spermatogenesis, fertilization, implantation, or embryo development.

Preferably, antibodies levels are sustained for at least a singlereproductive cycle of an immunized female subject, and more preferablyfor at least about six months or 9 months or 12 months or 2 years.

Preferably, the B cell epitope is derived from the amino acid sequenceof luteinising hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH), follicle stimulatinghormone (FSH), luteinising hormone (LH), human chorionic gonadotropin(hCG), a zona pellucida protein such as ZP3, or a FSH receptor ZP3a ofhumans or other mammals, such as pigs.

Particularly preferred B cell epitopes within this category include theC-terminal portion (CTP) of β-hCG; amino acid residues 323-341 of humanZP3; amino acid residues 8-18 or residues 272-283 or residues 319-330 ofporcine ZP3a.

Even more preferably, the B cell epitope comprises an amino acidsequence selected from the group consisting of: SEQ ID NO: 2, SEQ ID NO:3, SEQ ID NO: 4, SEQ ID NO: 76, SEQ ID NO: 77, SEQ ID NO: 78, SEQ ID NO:79, SEQ ID NO: 80, SEQ ID NO: 81, SEQ ID NO: 82, SEQ ID NO: 83, and SEQID NO: 84.

The T-helper epitope preferably comprises an amino acid sequenceselected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 20, SEQID NO: 24, SEQ ID NO: 26 and SEQ ID NO: 44, however any one of SEQ IDNos: 1 or 18-56 can be used.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the T-helperepitope comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in any one of SEQID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 20, SEQ ID NO: 24, SEQ ID NO: 26 and SEQ ID NO: 44,and the B-cell epitope comprises an amino acid sequence of LHRH as setforth in SEQ ID NO: 2 or SEQ ID NO: 3 or SEQ ID NO: 4. In accordancewith such a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide comprises an aminoacid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID Nos: 5-16,103 or 104. Also in accordance with this preferred embodiment, it ispreferred (albeit not essential) that the lipid moiety comprise alipoamino acid selected from the group consisting of: (i) Pam₂Cys; (ii)Ste₂Cys; (iii) Lau₂Cys; and (iv) Oct₂Cys.

The sustained production of antibodies against LHRH achieved by thelipopeptides of the invention demonstrates the general utility of thesubject lipopeptides as an active agent in a vaccine preparation forinducing sterility, or as a contraceptive agent.

Accordingly, a further aspect of the invention provides a contraceptiveagent comprising a pharmaceutically acceptable diluent and a lipopeptidecomprising an isolated polypeptide conjugated to one or more lipidmoieties wherein:

-   -   (i) said polypeptide comprises:        -   (a) the amino acid sequence of a T helper cell (Th) epitope            and the amino acid sequence of a B cell epitope of a            reproductive hormone or hormone receptor, wherein said amino            acid sequences are different; and        -   (b) one or more internal lysine residues or internal lysine            analog residues for covalent attachment of each of said            lipid moieties via an epsilon-amino group of said internal            lysine or via a terminal side-chain group of said internal            lysine analog; and    -   (ii) each of said one or more lipid moieties is covalently        attached directly or indirectly to an epsilon-amino group of        said one or more internal lysine residues or to a terminal        side-chain group of said one or more internal lysine analog        residues.

The vaccine/contraceptive agent of the invention may comprise one ormore carriers or excipients or other agents as described herein aboveunder “lipopeptide formulations”.

Similarly, administration of the subject vaccine/contraceptive agent isachieved by means described herein above. Preferably, the subject is ahuman, or an animal subject such as, for example, a farm animal,laboratory animal, domestic animal, feral animal or wild exotic animal.

Immunization Against Group A Streptococcus

Group A streptococcus (GAS) is the bacterial agent of relatively mildillnesses such as, for example, “strep throat,” and impetigo, as well asrarer severe and even life-threatening diseases such as, for example,necrotizing faciitis and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome. Severe,sometimes life-threatening, GAS disease may occur when bacteria get intoparts of the body where bacteria usually are not found, such as theblood, muscle, or the lungs, an infection termed “invasive GAS disease”.Two of the most severe forms of invasive GAS disease are necrotizingfasciitis and Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome (STSS). Necrotizingfasciitis destroys muscles, fat, and skin tissue. STSS causes bloodpressure to drop rapidly and organs (e.g., kidney, liver, lungs) tofail. About 20% of patients with necrotizing fasciitis and more thanhalf with STSS die. About 10%-15% of patients with other forms ofinvasive group A streptococcal disease die. There were about 9,400 casesof invasive GAS disease in the United States alone in 1999.

Invasive GAS infections generally occur when the bacteria get past thedefenses of the person who is infected, such as, for example, when aperson has sores or other breaks in the skin that allow the bacteria toget into the tissue, or when the person's ability to fight off theinfection is decreased because of chronic illness or an illness thataffects the immune system, including HIV/AIDS. Also, some virulentstrains of GAS are more likely to cause severe disease than others.People suffering from chronic illnesses like cancer, diabetes, andkidney dialysis, and those who use medications such as steroids have ahigher risk.

As exemplified herein, an appropriately configured lipopeptide of thepresent invention comprising an antigenic B cell epitope of a Group Astreptococcus antigen, preferably protein M, is capable of Immunizing ananimal host against GAS, and more particularly inducing serum IgG,saliva IgA and fecal IgA against the M protein of GAS, and alsoproviding a protective immune response against a subsequent challenge byGAS thereby reducing GAS-induced mortality.

Accordingly, a further aspect of the invention provides a method ofinducing an immune response against a Group A streptococcus antigen in asubject comprising administering to said subject an isolated lipopeptidecomprising a polypeptide conjugated to one or more lipid moieties,wherein:

-   -   (iv) said polypeptide comprises:        -   (b) the amino acid sequence of a T helper cell (Th) epitope            and the amino acid sequence of a B cell epitope of a Group A            streptococcus antigen, wherein said amino acid sequences are            different; and        -   (c) one or more internal lysine residues or internal lysine            analog residues for covalent attachment of each of said            lipid moieties via an epsilon-amino group of said internal            lysine or via a terminal side-chain group of said internal            lysine analog; and    -   (v) each of said one or more lipid moieties is covalently        attached directly or indirectly to an epsilon-amino group of        said one or more internal lysine residues or to a terminal        side-chain group of said one or more internal lysine analog        residues; and    -   (vi) said lipopeptide is administered for a time and under        conditions sufficient to elicit a humoral immune response        against said antigenic B cell epitope.

The lipopeptides may be administered in the form of any convenientlipopeptide formulation as described herein.

By “humoral immune response” means that a secondary immune response isgenerated against the B cell epitope sufficient to induce serum IgG,saliva IgA or fecal IgA against a peptide comprising the B-cell epitope,or alternatively or in addition, providing a protective immunity againsta subsequent challenge with Group A streptococcus.

Preferably, the humoral immunity generated includes a sustained level ofantibodies against the B cell epitope in the subject. By a “sustainedlevel of antibodies” is meant a sufficient level of circulatingantibodies against the B cell epitope to prevent the spread of infectionby a Group A streptococcus following a subsequently challenge, and/orreduce morbidity or mortality in a subject that is subsequentlychallenged with a Group A streptococcus.

Preferably, antibodies levels are sustained for at least about sixmonths or 9 months or 12 months or 2 years.

Preferably, the B cell epitope is derived from the amino acid sequenceof the M protein of Group A streptococcus.

Particularly preferred B cell epitopes within this category include apeptide that comprises the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:101.

The T-helper epitope preferably comprises an amino acid sequenceselected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 20, SEQID NO: 24, SEQ ID NO: 26 and SEQ ID NO: 44, however any one of SEQ IDNos: 1 or 18-56 can be used.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the T-helperepitope comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 24and the B-cell epitope comprises an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQID NO: 101. In accordance with such a preferred embodiment, thepolypeptide comprises an amino acid sequence selected from the groupconsisting of SEQ ID Nos: 105-108. Also in accordance with thispreferred embodiment, it is preferred (albeit not essential) that thelipid moiety comprise a lipoamino acid of Formula (I) or (II), howeverany lipid as described herein will be useful.

The sustained production of antibodies against the J14 peptide achievedby the lipopeptides of the invention demonstrates the general utility ofthe subject lipopeptides as an active agent in a vaccine preparation forproviding protective immunity against Group A streptococcus.

Accordingly, a further aspect of the invention provides a vaccineagainst Group A streptococcus comprising a pharmaceutically acceptablediluent and a lipopeptide comprising an isolated polypeptide conjugatedto one or more lipid moieties wherein:

-   -   (iii) said polypeptide comprises:        -   (b) the amino acid sequence of a T helper cell (Th) epitope            and the amino acid sequence of a B cell epitope of a Group A            streptococcus antigen, wherein said amino acid sequences are            different; and        -   (c) one or more internal lysine residues or internal lysine            analog residues for covalent attachment of each of said            lipid moieties via an epsilon-amino group of said internal            lysine or via a terminal side-chain group of said internal            lysine analog; and    -   (iv) each of said one or more lipid moieties is covalently        attached directly or indirectly to an epsilon-amino group of        said one or more internal lysine residues or to a terminal        side-chain group of said one or more internal lysine analog        residues.

The vaccine of the invention may comprise one or more carriers orexcipients or other agents as described herein above under “lipopeptideformulations”.

Similarly, administration of the subject vaccine is achieved by meansdescribed herein above, preferably by an intranasal route. Preferably,the subject is a human, or an animal subject such as, for example, afarm animal, laboratory animal, domestic animal, feral animal or wildexotic animal.

Inhibition or Prevention of Excessive and Unregulated Gastric AcidSecretion

Gastrin is known to stimulate gastric acid secretion by parietal cells,an activity mediated by binding of gastrin to gastrin receptors orcholecystekinin receptors. The terminal four-to-five amino acid residuesof gastrin provide the same receptor specificity and activity as thefull-length protein. The terminal five amino acid residues of gastrinare termed “pentagastrin”. Unregulated gastrin expression or secretioncauses hypergastrinemia, which can lead to Zollinger-Ellison syndrome,the formation of gastric and duodenal ulcers, or gastrinoma in thepancreas or duodenum, as a consequence of excessive and unregulatedgastric acid secretion. Immunoneutralization of gastrin using antibodiesagainst gastrin is also known to block secretion of gastric acid inresponse to intragastric secretion of gastrin peptides.

As exemplified herein, an appropriately configured lipopeptide of thepresent invention comprising an antigenic B cell epitope of a gastrinpeptide is capable of immunizing an animal host against gastrin or aneffect of excessive gastrin production in a mouse model of other mammalsin which inhibition of gastric acid secretion is indicated. The dataprovided herein demonstrate the general utility of the subjectlipopeptides in inducing humoral immunity against gastrin andimmunoneutralization of gastrin, to thereby block secretion of gastricacid, in an animal suffering from hypergastrinemia, Zollinger-Ellisonsyndrome, gastric ulceration or duodenal ulceration due to excessive andunregulated secretion of gastric acid, or to reduce or prevent theformation of gastrin-secreting tumors in the pancreas or duodenum (i.e.the prophylaxis and/or therapy of gastrinoma).

Accordingly, a further aspect of the invention provides a method ofinducing an immune response against a gastrin peptide in a subjectcomprising administering to said subject an isolated lipopeptidecomprising a polypeptide conjugated to one or more lipid moieties,wherein:

-   -   (vii) said polypeptide comprises:        -   (c) the amino acid sequence of a T helper cell (Th) epitope            and the amino acid sequence of a B cell epitope of a gastrin            peptide antigen, wherein said amino acid sequences are            different; and        -   (d) one or more internal lysine residues or internal lysine            analog residues for covalent attachment of each of said            lipid moieties via an epsilon-amino group of said internal            lysine or via a terminal side-chain group of said internal            lysine analog; and    -   (viii) each of said one or more lipid moieties is covalently        attached directly or indirectly to an epsilon-amino group of        said one or more internal lysine residues or to a terminal        side-chain group of said one or more internal lysine analog        residues; and    -   (ix) said lipopeptide is administered for a time and under        conditions sufficient to elicit a humoral immune response        against said antigenic B cell epitope.

The lipopeptides may be administered in the form of any convenientlipopeptide formulation as described herein.

By “humoral immune response” means that a secondary immune response isgenerated against the B cell epitope sufficient to induce serum IgGagainst a gastrin peptide comprising the B-cell epitope.

Preferably, the humoral immunity generated includes a sustained level ofantibodies against the B cell epitope in the subject. By a “sustainedlevel of antibodies” is meant a sufficient level of circulatingantibodies against the B cell epitope to prevent excessive orunregulated gastric acid secretion in response to gastrin.

Preferably, antibodies levels are sustained for at least about sixmonths or 9 months or 12 months or 2 years.

Preferably, the B cell epitope is contained within a pentagastrinpeptide. Particularly preferred B cell epitopes within this categoryinclude a peptide that comprises the amino acid sequence set forth inSEQ ID NO: 102, however the full length gastrin protein or anyimmunogenic fragment thereof comprising a B-cell epitope may also beused.

The T-helper epitope preferably comprises an amino acid sequenceselected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 20, SEQID NO: 24, SEQ ID NO: 26 and SEQ ID NO: 44, however any one of SEQ IDNos: 1 or 18-56 can be used.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the T-helperepitope comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 24and the B-cell epitope comprises an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQID NO: 102. In accordance with such a preferred embodiment, thepolypeptide comprises an amino acid sequence selected from the groupconsisting of SEQ ID Nos: 109-112. Also in accordance with thispreferred embodiment, it is preferred (albeit not essential) that thelipid moiety comprise a lipoamino acid of Formula (I) or (II), howeverany lipid as described herein will be useful.

The sustained production of antibodies against pentagastrin or gastrinthat is achieved by the lipopeptides of the invention demonstrates thegeneral utility of the subject lipopeptides as an active agent in avaccine preparation for reducing an adverse effect of gastrin in asubject in need thereof.

Accordingly, a further aspect of the invention provides a vaccineagainst a disease or condition induced by excessive gastrin secretion ina subject comprising a pharmaceutically acceptable diluent and alipopeptide comprising an isolated polypeptide conjugated to one or morelipid moieties wherein:

-   -   (v) said polypeptide comprises:        -   (c) the amino acid sequence of a T helper cell (Th) epitope            and the amino acid sequence of a B cell epitope of a gastrin            peptide antigen, wherein said amino acid sequences are            different; and        -   (d) one or more internal lysine residues or internal lysine            analog residues for covalent attachment of each of said            lipid moieties via an epsilon-amino group of said internal            lysine or via a terminal side-chain group of said internal            lysine analog; and    -   (vi) each of said one or more lipid moieties is covalently        attached directly or indirectly to an epsilon-amino group of        said one or more internal lysine residues or to a terminal        side-chain group of said one or more internal lysine analog        residues.

The vaccine of the invention may comprise one or more carriers orexcipients or other agents as described herein above under “lipopeptideformulations”.

Similarly, administration of the subject vaccine is achieved by meansdescribed herein above. Preferably, the subject is a human.

The present invention is further described with reference to thefollowing non-limiting examples and the drawings.

EXAMPLE 1 Materials and Methods

Chemicals

Unless otherwise stated chemicals were of analytical grade or itsequivalent. N,N′-dimethylformamide (DMF), piperidine, trifluoroaceticacid (TFA), O′benzotriazole-N,N,N′,N′-tetramethyluroniumhexafluorophosphate (HBTU), 1-hydroxybenzotriazole (HOBt) anddiisopropylethylamine (DIPEA) and diisopropylcarbodiimide (DIPCDI) wereobtained from Auspep Pty. Ltd., Melbourne, Australia and Sigma-AldrichPty. Ltd., Castle Hill, Australia.O′benzotriazole-N,N,N′,N′-tetramethyluronium tetrafluoroborate (TBTU)was obtained from Bachem, (Bachem AG, Switzerland). Dichloromethane(DCM) and diethylether were from Merck Pty Ltd. (Kilsyth, Australia).Phenol and triisopropylsilane (TIPS) were from Aldrich (Milwaulke, Wis.)and trinitrobenzylsulphonic acid (TNBSA) and diaminopyridine (DMAP) fromFluka; 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU) was obtained from Sigmaand palmitic acid was from Fluka.

Synthesis of Lipid Moieties of Formulae (I)

Pam₃Cys was prepared according to the method described by Weismuller etal., Hoppe Seylers Z Physiol Chem 364, 593 (1983), as modified accordingto the method described by Zeng et al., J Pept Sci 2, :66 (1996). Thelipoamino acid Pam₃Cys is coupled to the exposed epsilon-amino group oflysine according to the procedure described by Zeng et al. (supra).Briefly, a 2-fold excess of Pam₃Cys, TBTU and HOBt was dissolved in DCMand a 3-fold excess of DIPEA added. This solution was then added to theresin-bound peptide to generate the lipopeptide.

Synthesis of Lipid Moieties of Formulae (II)

Pam₂Cys and its derivative Fmoc-Pam₂Cys-OH were prepared according tothe methods described by Jones et al., Xenobiotica 5, 155 (1975) andMetzger et al., Int J Pept Protein Res 38, 545 (1991).

Synthesis of Lipopeptides

Pam₂Cys, Ste₂Cys, Oct₂Cys, or Lau₂Cys were coupled to peptide using avariation of the methods described by Jones et al., Xenobiotica 5, 155(1975) and Metzger et al., Int J Pept Protein Res 38, 545 (1991).

I. Synthesis of S-(2,3-Dihydroxypropyl)cysteine:

Triethylamine (6 g, 8.2 ml, 58 mmoles) was added to L-cysteinehydrochloride (3 g, 19 mmole) and 3-bromo-propan-1,2-diol (4.2 g, 2.36ml, 27 mmole) in water and the homogeneous solution kept at roomtemperature for 3 days. The solution was reduced in vacuo at 40° C. to awhite residue which was boiled with methanol (100 ml), centrifuged andthe residue dissolved in water (5 ml). This aqueous solution was addedto acetone (300 ml) and the precipitate isolated by centrifugation. Theprecipitate was purified by several precipitations from water withacetone to give S-(2,3-dihydroxypropyl)cysteine as a white amorphouspowder (2.4 g, 12.3 mmol, 64.7%).

II. Synthesis ofN-Fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl-S-(2,3-dihydroxypropyl)cysteine(Fmoc-Dhc-OH):

S-(2,3-dihydroxypropyl)cysteine (2.45 g, 12.6 mmole) was dissolved in 9%sodium carbonate (20 ml). A solution offluorenylmethoxycarbonyl-N-hydroxysuccinimide (3.45 g, 10.5 mmole) inacetonitrile (20 ml) was added and the mixture stirred for 2 h, thendiluted with water (240 ml), and extracted with diethyl ether (25 ml×3).The aqueous phase was acidified to pH 2 with concentrated hydrochloricacid and was then extracted with ethyl acetate (70 ml×3). The extractwas washed with water (50 ml×2) and saturated sodium chloride solution(50 ml×2), dried over sodium sulfate and evaporated to dryness.Recrystalisation from ether and ethyl acetate at −20° C. yielded acolourless powder (2.8 g, 6.7 mmole, 63.8%).

III. Coupling of Fmoc-Dhc-OH to Resin-Bound Peptide:

Fmoc-Dhc-OH (100 mg, 0.24 mmole) was activated in DCM and DMF (1:1, v/v,3 ml) with HOBt (36 mg, 0.24 mmole) and DICI (37 ul, 0.24 mmol) at 0° C.for 5 min. The mixture was then added to a vessel containing theresin-bound peptide (0.04 mmole, 0.25 g amino-peptide resin). Aftershaking for 2 h the solution was removed by filtration and the resin waswashed with DCM and DMF (3×30 ml each). The reaction was monitored forcompletion using the TNBSA test. If necessary a double coupling wasperformed.

IVa. Palmitoylation of the Two Hydroxy Groups of the Fmoc-Dhc-PeptideResin:

Palmitic acid (204 mg, 0.8 mmole), DICI (154 ul, 1 mmole) and DMAP (9.76mg, 0.08 mmole) were dissolved in 2 ml of DCM and 1 ml of DMF. Theresin-bound Fmoc-Dhc-peptide resin (0.04 mmole, 0.25 g) was suspended inthis solution and shaken for 16 h at room temperature. The solution wasremoved by filtration and the resin was then washed with DCM and DMFthoroughly to remove any residue of urea. The removal of the Fmoc groupwas accomplished with 2.5% DBU (2×5 mins).

IVb. Stearoylation of the Two Hydroxy Groups of the Fmoc-Dhc-PeptideResin:

Stearic acid (about 0.8 mmole), DICI (154 ul, 1 mmole) and DMAP (9.76mg, 0.08 mmole) were dissolved in 2 ml of DCM and 1 ml of DMF. Theresin-bound Fmoc-Dhc-peptide resin (0.04 mmole, 0.25 g) was suspended inthis solution and shaken for 16 h at room temperature. The solution wasremoved by filtration and the resin was then washed with DCM and DMFthoroughly to remove any residue of urea. The removal of the Fmoc groupwas accomplished with 2.5% DBU (2×5 mins).

IVc. Lauroylation of the Two Hydroxy Groups of the Fmoc-Dhc-PeptideResin:

Lauric acid (about 0.8 mmole), DICI (154 ul, 1 mmole) and DMAP (9.76 mg,0.08 mmole) were dissolved in 2 ml of DCM and 1 ml of DMF. Theresin-bound Fmoc-Dhc-peptide resin (0.04 mmole, 0.25 g) was suspended inthis solution and shaken for 16 h at room temperature. The solution wasremoved by filtration and the resin was then washed with DCM and DMFthoroughly to remove any residue of urea. The removal of the Fmoc groupwas accomplished with 2.5% DBU (2×5 mins).

IVd. Octanoylation of the Two Hydroxy Groups of the Fmoc-Dhc-PeptideResin:

Octanoic acid (about 0.8 mmole), DICI (154 ul, 1 mmole) and DMAP (9.76mg, 0.08 mmole) were dissolved in 2 ml of DCM and 1 ml of DMF. Theresin-bound Fmoc-Dhc-peptide resin (0.04 mmole, 0.25 g) was suspended inthis solution and shaken for 16 h at room temperature. The solution wasremoved by filtration and the resin was then washed with DCM and DMFthoroughly to remove any residue of urea. The removal of the Fmoc groupwas accomplished with 2.5% DBU (2×5 mins).

Peptide Synthesis

The general procedure used for the peptide synthesis has been describedby Jackson et al., Vaccine 18, 355 (1999). To enable lipid attachmentbetween the CD4⁺ T cell epitope and B-cell epitope, Fmoc-lysine(Mtt)-OHwas inserted at a point between the two epitopes in the approximatecentre of the resin-bound peptide. If lipid was to be added to anotherposition within the peptide, such as, for example, the Lys-14 residue ofSEQ ID NO: 24, then the Fmoc-lysine(Mtt)-OH was also inserted at thatposition. Following completion of peptide synthesis the Mtt group wasremoved by continual flow washing with 1% TFA in dichloromethane over aperiod of 30-45 mins to expose the epsilon amino group of the lysineresidue. Two serine residues were coupled to this epsilon amino group inthe case where two serine residues were used as spacer. Alternatively,two arginine residues were coupled to this epsilon amino group in thecase where two arginine residues were used as spacer. Alternatively,6-aminohexanoic acid was coupled to this epsilon amino group. Thesubsequent coupling of the lipid moiety, such as, for example, Pam₃Cys,Pam₂Cys, Ste₂Cys, Oct₂Cys, or Lau₂Cys was described above.

All resin-bound peptide constructs were cleaved from the solid phasesupport with reagent B (88% TFA, 5% phenol, 2% TIPS, 5% water) for 2 hr,and purified by reversed phase chromatography as described by Zeng etal., Vaccine 18, 1031 (2000).

Analytical reversed phase high pressure liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC)was carried out using a Vydac C4 column (4.6×250 mm) installed in aWaters HPLC system and developed at a flow rate of 1 ml/min using 0.1%TFA in H₂O and 0.1% TFA in CH₃CN as the limit solvent. All productspresented as a single major peak on analytical RP-HPLC and had theexpected mass when analysed by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry on a BrukerBIFLEX instrument equipped with delayed ion extraction. The finalquantitation of the immunogens was done by measuring the absorption at280 nm exploiting the presence of a tryptophan and a tyrosine residue inthe peptide constructs (molar extinction coefficient of 6.6×10³).

To investigate the effect of serine by incorporating two residuesbetween the peptide and lipid moieties of the Pam₃Cys-containingpeptides and Pam₂Cys-containing peptides, two serine residues were addedsequentially to the peptide prior to covalent attachment of the lipidmoiety (the structures of which are shown in FIG. 1). Summaries of theircharacteristics, carried out by analytical RP-HPLC and massspectrometry, are presented in Tables 1 and 2.

Immunization Protocols

Groups of five female BALB/c mice, 6 to 8 weeks old, were inoculated atday 0 and again on day 28. Alternatively, female outbred Quackenbushmice, 4-6 weeks old, were immunized intranasally and provided withboosts as per the primary immunization at 21-day intervals. Forsubcutaneous (s.c.) inoculations (100 μl volume per dose), lipopeptideconstructs were prepared in saline and non-lipidated peptides formulatedas an emulsion in an equal volume of complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA)for the primary injection or incomplete Freund's adjuvant for thesecondary inoculation. For intranasal (i.n.) inoculations, 50 μl ofpeptide in saline were applied to the nares of mice anaesthetised withpenthrane for inhalation. Sera were prepared from blood taken at 4 weeksafter the primary inoculation and two weeks after the secondaryinoculation, or alternatively, from tail bleeds seven days following thefinal immunization.

Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays (ELISA)

ELISA assays were carried out on serum samples as described essentiallyby Ghosh et al., Int Immun. 11, 1103, (1999), using the immunizingantigen (eg., LHRH, J14 or pentagastrin) as the coating antigen. Thetitres of antibody are expressed as the reciprocal of the highestdilution of serum to achieve an OD of 0.2, which representsapproximately 5 times the background binding in the absence of antibody.The isotype of antibodies specific for LHRH or J14 was determined usingrabbit antisera directed against mouse IgM, IgG1, IgG2a, IgG2b, IgG3 orIgA (ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc., Costa Mesa, Calif.) as previouslydescribed by Ghosh et al., Int Immun. 11, 1103, (1999).

Fertility Studies

After being inoculated with peptide immunogen and following exposure tomale mice, female mice were tested for their ability to drop litters. Agroup of female mice immunized with saline in CFA was used as a control.A male mouse was introduced into a cage in which two or three femalemice were kept and male mice rotated between each cage to expose eachgroup of female mice to every male. Males and females were kept togetherfor a total of 3 weeks at the end of which time the males were removedand the females kept under observation. TABLE 1 HPLC elution and masscharacteristics of peptide vaccines based upon influenza virushemagglutinin T-helper epitope (SEQ ID NO: 1) and LHRH B-cell epitope(SEQ ID NO: 2). ²Experimentally ¹Peptide ¹Retention Expected determinedconstruct time (min) mass (Da) mass (Da) [Th]—[B] 26.3 2957.1 2957.3[Th]-Lys-[B] 26.0 3085.5 3084.7 Pam₃Cys-Ser-Ser- 51.5 4022.4 4020.8[Th]—[B] Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser- 41.8 3785.1 3785.5 [Th]—[B] Pam₂Cys-[Th]—[B]40.7 3609.3 3605.7 [Th]-Lys(Pam₃Cys)- 50.4 3977.4 3969.5 [B][Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys)- 40.7 3739.5 3739.6 [B] [Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys- 40.3 3913.53912.1 Ser—Ser-)-[B]¹Reversed phase chromatography was carried out on Vydac C4 column (4.6 ×250 mm) installed in a Waters HPLC system and developed at a flow rateof 1 ml/min using 0.1% TFA in H₂O and 0.1% TFA in CH₃CN as the limitsolvent.²Mass spectrometry was carried out using a Bruker Biflex MALDI-TOFinstrument equipped with delayed ion extraction. Analysis was carriedout in the linear mode.

TABLE 2 HPLC elution and mass characteristics of peptide vaccines basedupon CDV-F P25 T-helper epitope (SEQ ID NO: 24) and pentagastrin B-cellepitope (SEQ ID NO: 102). ²Experimentally ¹Peptide ¹Retention Expecteddetermined construct time (min) mass (Da) mass (Da) [Th]-Lys-[B] 31.42621.5 2620.7 Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser- 54.9 3449.7 3450.3 [Th]—[B][Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys- 53.9 3505.7 3506.7 Ser-Ser-)-[B]¹Reversed phase chromatography was carried out on Vydac C4 column (4.6 ×300 mm) installed in a Waters HPLC system and developed at a flow rateof 1 ml/min using 0.1% TFA in H₂O and 0.1% TFA in CH₃CN as the limitsolvent.²Mass spectrometry was carried out using an Agilent 110 LC/MSD ion trapmass spectrometer.Dendritic Cell Culture

Dendritic cells (DC) were cultured in medium based on complete IDDM.This consisted of Iscove's Modified Dulbecco's Medium (IMDM) containing25 mM HEPES and without alpha-thioglycerol or L-glutamine (JRHBioscience, Lenexa, USA), supplemented with 10% (v/v) heat inactivated(56° C., 30 min) foetal calf serum (CSL Ltd., Parkville, Victoria,Australia), gentamicin (24 μg/mL), glutamine (2 mM), sodium pyruvate (2mM), penicillin (100 IU/mL), streptomycin (180 μg/mL) and2-mercaptoethanol (0.1 mM). For DC generation complete IMDM was furthersupplemented with 30% supernatant from cultured NIH/3T3 cells and 5%GM-CSF in the form of a supernatant from Ag8653 cells transfected withthe GM-CSF gene (DC medium).

The culture method for immature dendritic cells was adapted from Winzleret al., J. Exp Med. 185, 317 (1997). Spleen cells from a BALB/c mousewere seeded at 1.5×10⁶ cells per 55 mm dish (Techno-Plas, S.A.,Australia) in 3 ml DC medium and incubated at 37° C. with 5% CO₂. Allthe equipment used for culturing was pyrogen free. The medium waschanged every 4 days and all cells returned to the dish. On day 12, bothsuspended and weakly adherent cells were collected by forcefullypipetting and then aspirating the medium. The procedure was repeatedwith 2 ml of PBS. The remaining strongly adherent cells were discarded.The collected cells were pelleted by centrifugation and reseeded into anew dish. Cells were subsequently maintained on a 4 day alternatingcycle of media change and passage. After 1 month of continuousculturing, the floating and semi-adherent cells took on the appearanceand staining characteristics of immature DC and are referred to as D1cells. Under these passage conditions the majority of cultured D1 cellsmaintain an immature phenotype characterized by an intermediateexpression level of cell surface MHC class II molecules.

Flow Cytometric Analysis of D1 Cells

D1 cells (1×10⁵ cells per sample) were seeded in a new Petri dish with 1mL of DC media and incubated with 0.0045 nmole of lipopeptide, dissolvedin complete IMDM medium. Lipopolysaccharide purified from E. coliserotype O111:B4 (Difco, Detroit, Mich., USA, a kind gift from Dr. E.Margot Anders, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University ofMelbourne) was used at 5 μg/mL as a positive control for DC maturation.After overnight incubation, the cells were harvested and washed oncewith PBS with 1% FCS. To prevent non-specific binding to FCγRII/III, thecells were pre-incubated with 20 μL of normal mouse serum for 5 mins atroom temperature. The cells were then exposed to FITC-conjugatedmonoclonal antibody 14-4-4S (IgG_(2a), anti-I-E^(k,d); Ozato et al., J.Immunol., 124, 533, 1980) for 30 min on ice. Monoclonal antibody 36/1(Brown et al., Arch Virol 114, 1 1990), which is specific for thehemagglutinin of influenza virus, was used as an isotype control. Allantibodies were used at 2.5 μg/mL. The samples were washed once with PBScontaining 1% FCS and fixed with PBS containing 4% paraformaldehyde onice for 15 minutes. Flow cytometry analysis was performed using aFACSort (Becton Dickinson, San Jose, USA) and the data were analysedusing FlowJo software (Tree Star, Inc., San Carlos, Calif., USA)

EXAMPLE 2 Studies on Lipopeptides Comprising LHRH B Cell Epitopes

Solubility Properties of Lipopeptides Comprising LHRH

Visual inspection of the different lipopeptide preparations comprisingLHRH showed that they differed markedly in their solubilities (FIG. 2).Enhanced solubility was most evident in those cases where lipid wasattached between the two epitopes at the approximate centre of themolecule. The lipopeptides designated [Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys)-[B] and[Th]-Lys(Pam₃Cys)-[B] were soluble in saline at concentrations of atleast 8 mg/ml (no higher concentrations were examined), whereasconstructs in which lipid was attached to the N-terminus of the sequenceformed opalescent solutions at concentrations as low as 0.25 mg/ml.

Efforts to further enhance the solubility of peptides with N-terminallylinked lipid by the incorporation of two hydrophilic serine residuesbetween the lipid and peptide moieties (i.e. Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser-[Th]-[B]and Pam₃Cys-Ser-Ser-[Th]-[B]), proved unsuccessful. In fact thelipopeptide Pam₃Cys-Ser-Ser-[Th]-[B] was so insoluble that it could notbe purified by RP-HPLC under conditions used for the other lipopeptides.We considered that the insoluble nature of this construct would preventit from being considered as a viable proposition for manufacture as avaccine.

Immunogenicity of Lipopeptides Comprising LHRH B Cell Epitopes

The three lipopeptides designated Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser-[Th]-[B],[Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys)-[B] and [Th]-Lys(Pam₃Cys)-[B], when administered s.c.in saline induced high levels of anti-LHRH antibody. In fact, antibodytitres induced after two doses of these lipopeptides were similar tothose obtained with [Th]-[B] or [Th]-Lys-[B] when administered in CFA(FIG. 3). The titres of anti-LHRH antibodies in sera of mice that hadreceived Pam₃Cys-Ser-Ser-[Th]-[B] or Pam₂Cys-[Th]-[B] were slightlylower. The two soluble lipopeptides [Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys)-[B],[Th]-Lys(Pam₃Cys)-[B] induced 10 to 100-fold higher levels of anti-LHRHantibody following the primary inoculation than did the other lesssoluble lipopeptide constructs. Two groups of five mice receiving[Th]-[B] admixed with Pam₃Cys-Ser-(Lys)₄ in the ratio 1:1 or 1:5 did notelicit significant levels of anti-LHRH antibody, a finding thatcontrasts with other results reported using Pam₃Cys-Ser-(Lys)₄ as anadjuvant (Jung, G., and W. G. Bessler. (1995) In: “Immunologicalrecognition of peptides in medicine and biology”, N. D. Zegers, W. J. A.Boersma, and E. Claassen, eds. CRC Press, Boca, N.Y., London, Tokyo, p.159).

The results of the fertility study carried out two weeks after thesecond inoculation with the various lipopeptides are shown in Table 3.

None of the mice that received either of the two soluble lipopeptideconstructs, [Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys)-[B] or [Th]-Lys(Pam₃Cys)-[B], administeredin saline or the two non-lipidated constructs [Th]-[B] or [Th]-Lys-[B]administered in CFA, became pregnant. One mouse from the group thatreceived Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser-[Th]-[B], and two animals from the groups thatreceived Pam₃Cys-Ser-Ser-[Th]-[B] or Pam₂Cys-[Th]-[B] dropped litters.All members of control groups of mice that received saline in CFA or thepeptide [Th]-[B] co-admixed with Pam₃Cys-S-(Lys)₄ dropped litters.

Antibody levels were followed up to 7 months after the second dose ofpeptide vaccine. The titres of anti-LHRH antibody present inlipopeptide-primed mice and in mice primed with non lipidated peptideadministered in CFA decrease between 4 and 20 fold during a 26 weekperiod. Three months following the secondary inoculation a fertilitystudy carried out on all mice yielded similar results to the 2 weekpost-immunization trial. Mice that had received the solublelipopeptides, [Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys)[B] or [Th]-Lys(Pam₃Cys)-[B], in salineor the non-lipidated [Th]-[B] and [Th]-Lys-[B] in CFA were stillinfertile. TABLE 3 Anti-LHRH antibody titres and incidence of pregnancyfollowing inoculation with peptide constructs Incidence of pregnancy²Mean anti-LHRH titres (log₁₀) weeks following second dose 2 weeks after13 weeks after ¹Inoculum 2 weeks 7 weeks 10 weeks 20 weeks 28 weeks2^(nd) Dose 2^(nd) Dose Pam₂Cys-[Th]—[B] 4.24 ± 0.60 3.38 ± 0.18 3.34 ±0.97 3.18 ± 0.63 3.16 ± 0.53 2/5 3/5 Pam₃Cys-Ser-Ser-[Th]—[B] 3.36 ±0.23 3.12 + 0.16 3.04 ± 0.24 2.78 ± 0.19 2.75 ± 0.23 2/5 0/5Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser-[Th]—[B] 4.78 ± 0.18 3.96 ± 0.10 3.80 ± 0.16 3.52 ± 0.253.48 ± 0.25 1/5 2/5 [Th]-Lys(Pam₃Cys)-[B] 4.48 ± 0.62 4.18 ± 0.43 4.06 ±0.38 3.86 ± 0.54 3.75 ± 0.48 0/5 0/5 [Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys)-[B] 4.68 ± 0.403.96 ± 0.34 3.94 ± 0.38 3.78 ± 0.21 3.70 ± 0.29 0/5 0/5 [Th]—[B] 4.92 ±0.32 4.32 ± 0.32 4.28 ± 0.32 4.06 ± 0.36 3.98 ± 0.35 0/5 0/5[Th]-Lys-[B] 4.70 ± 0.18 4.36 ± 0.15 4.24 ± 0.16 4.12 ± 0.20 3.82 ± 0.080/5 0/5 [Th]—[B] + Pam₃Cys-Ser- <2 ND ND ND ND 5/5 ND Lys₄ (1:5admixture) Saline <2 ND ND ND ND 5/5 3/5¹[Th]—[B], [Th]-Lys-[B] and saline were each administered in CFA, allother peptide constructs were administered in saline. The dose of eachwas 20 nmoles administered subcutaneously.²Titres represent the geometric means of groups of five female BALB/cmice.Pam₂Cys is a more potent adjuvant than Pam₃Cys

The results presented in FIG. 3 and Table 2 indicate that the twobranched lipopeptides [Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys)-[B] and [Th]-Lys(Pam₃Cys)-[B]were not only more soluble but also elicited higher antibody titres,particularly in the primary antibody response, than did the immunogensPam₂Cys-[Th]-[B], Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser-[Th]-[B] and Pam₃Cys-Ser-Ser-[Th]-[B].

To examine this further, we investigated the effect of decreasing thedose on the immunogenicity of [Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys)-[B] and[Th]-Lys(Pam₃Cys)-[B]. At doses of 10 nmole and 1 nmole,[Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys)-[B] induced higher antibody titres than did[Th]-Lys(Pam₃Cys)-[B] (Table 4). A more striking difference was observedin the mating trial; 1 of 5 and 0 of 5 mice receiving 10 and 1 nmole[Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys)-[B], respectively, dropped litters whereas 3 of 5 and5 of 5 mice receiving [Th]-Lys(Pam3Cys)-[B] at these doses droppedlitters (Table 4). These results indicate that Pam₂Cys-containingpeptides are better immunogens than Pam₃Cys-containing peptides.

The effect of including two additional serine residues into thePam₂Cys-containing immunogens had little or no effect on the fertilitystatus of animals although there was an improvement in the antibodytitres that were generated following the second dose (Table 4). TABLE 4Anti-LHRH antibody titres and fertility status of mice inoculated withdifferent doses of peptide vaccines. Mean anti-LHRH ²Pregnancy antibodytitre status (No. of (log₁₀) 2 weeks animals per group following thatdropped ¹Inoculum second dose litters) [Th]-Lys(Pam3Cys)- 3.76 ± 0.363/5 [B] 10 nmole [Th]-Lys(Pam3Cys)- 3.22 ± 0.51 5/5 [B] 1 nmole[Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys)- 4.22 ± 0.33 1/5 [B] 10 nmole [Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys)- 3.61± 1.18 0/5 [B] 1 nmole [Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys- 4.64 ± 0.23 0/5 Ser-Ser)-[B] 10nmole [Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys- 3.92 ± 0.65 1/5 Ser-Ser)-[B] 1 nmole [Th]—[B] inCFA 4.72 ± 0.21 1/5 10 nmole [Th]—[B] in CFA 3.56 ± 0.22 3/5 1 nmoleSaline in CFA <2 5/5¹Lipopeptides were administered in saline and the non-lipidated peptide[Th]—[B] and saline controls were inoculated in CFA for the primaryinoculation and incomplete Freunds adjuvant for the secondaryinoculation. All vaccines were administered by the subcutaneous route.²Fertility experiments were initiated two weeks after the second dose ofvaccine.Systemic Antibody Responses Following Intranasal (i.n.) Immunization

We inoculated [Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser)-[B] and Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser-[Th]-[B]in saline by the intranasal route. The same vaccines were alsoinoculated by the subcutaneous route and the systemic anti-LHRH antibodyresponses were measured. The solution used for inoculation of[Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser)-[B] was clear and the one forPam₂Cys-Ser-Ser-[Th]-[B] was opalescent indicating solubilitydifferences between the two preparations.

Following two intranasal inoculations, each of the vaccines inducedsimilar titres of serum anti-LHRH antibodies which were slightly lowerthan those induced following subcutaneous inoculation (Table 5). Themore soluble [Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser)-[B] induced significantly higherlevels of anti-LHRH antibody 4 weeks after a single dose than did theless soluble Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser-[Th]-[B] (p=0.00007); in fact this wassimilar to the result obtained following subcutaneous inoculation. Thefertility trial showed that two intranasal inoculations of[Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser)-[B] prevented all mice from becoming pregnantin contrast to those animals receiving Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser-[Th]-[B]intranasally in which 3 of 5 mice became pregnant.

A comparison of the longevity of the responses induced by the twoconstructs when administered by the two different routes is also shownin Table 5. Twenty six weeks following the second dose of vaccine thelevels of antibody in all mice had dropped below those observed 2 weeksafter receiving the second dose. The decrease in anti-LHRH antibody inthe group that received [Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser)-[B] subcutaneously,however, was much less apparent again indicating the superiority of aconfiguration in this context wherein Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser is attached at theapproximate centre of the molecule. TABLE 5 Anti-LHRH antibody titresand fertility status of mice inoculated intranasally or subcutaneouslywith various peptide and lipopeptide constructs Geometric mean anti-LHRHantibody titres (log₁₀) ²Pregnancy 4 weeks after 2 weeks after 10 weeksafter 26 weeks after No. animals per group ¹Inoculum 1^(st) Dose 2^(nd)Dose 2^(nd) Dose 2^(nd) Dose that dropped littersPam₂Cys-Ser-Ser-[Th]—[B] 2.40 ± 0.5 4.60 ± 0.35 3.80 ± 0.40 3.30 ± 0.390/5 (subcutaneous) Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser-[Th]—[B] 1.88 ± 0.42 4.28 ± 0.75 3.18± 0.45 2.90 ± 0.23 3/5 (intranasal) [Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser)-[B] 3.46 ±0.35 4.62 ± 0.35 4.18 ± 0.32 4.02 ± 0.44 0/5 (subcutaneous)[Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser)-[B] 3.52 ± 0.25 4.22 ± 0.19 3.46 ± 0.35 3.02 ±0.18 0/5 (intranasal) [Th]—[B] in CFA (subcutaneous) 4.12 ± 0.41 4.70 ±0.36 3.88 ± 0.30 3.62 ± 0.37 0/5 Saline in CFA (subcutaneous) 1.0 ND NDND 5/5¹Lipopeptide vaccines were inoculated in saline, and non-lipidated[Th]—[B] and saline controls were inoculated in CFA for the primaryinoculation and incomplete Freunds adjuvant for the secondaryinoculation.²Fertility experiments were initiated two weeks after the second dose ofvaccine.

We also determined the titres of individual antibody isotypes that weredirected towards LHRH and obtained from animals following twosubcutaneous or intranasal doses of the soluble lipopeptide[Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser)-[B] (FIG. 4). Intranasal inoculation appearedto induce higher levels of IgG3, IgG2b and possibly IgM than didsubcutaneous inoculation even though the amount of total Ig induced byintranasal inoculation was less.

Exposure of DC to Peptides and Lipopeptides Induce Different Levels ofCell Surface MHC Class II Molecules

The priming of naïve CD4+ T cells in secondary lymphoid organs bydendritic cells is preceded by maturation of DC upon exposure toantigen. This maturation is characterised by up-regulation of MHCproducts and co-stimulatory molecules on the DC surface. We thereforedetermined whether the various peptides and lipopeptides coulddifferentially activate dendritic cells in an attempt to explain thedifferent immunogenic properties of these vaccine candidates.

The results of experiments in which a line of immature DC, D1 cells,were exposed to peptides, stained for surface expression of MHC class IImolecules then analysed by flow cytometry, demonstrated that[Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser)-[B] was the most effective andPam₂Cys-[Th]-[B] was the least effective in causing maturation of DC(FIG. 5). The ability of [Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser)-[B] to up-regulateclass II expression approached that of bacterial lipopolysaccharide(LPS) and Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser[Th]-[B] and [Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys)-[B] displayedintermediate levels of activation. The non-lipidated peptide was unableto induce maturation of D1 cells greater than the 26% which occursspontaneously in culture. The ability of the lipopeptides to induce thematuration of D1 cells was concentration-dependent (data not shown). Therelative abilities of these lipopeptides to induce maturation of D1cells directly reflected their ability to induce antibody, providing apossible mechanism for differences in immunogenicity.

Antibody Responses to the C-Terminal Pentapeptide of LHRH

As shown in FIG. 6, approximately equivalent antibody responses areelicited by lipidated [Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys)-[B] in which [Th] consists ofCD4⁺ T cell epitope from the light chain of influenza hemagglutinin (SEQID NO: 1) and [B] is LHRH 1-10 (SEQ ID NO: 2) or LHRH 6-10 (i.e., thelast C-terminal 5 residues of LHRH; SEQ ID NO: 4), with or without aserine spacer (Ser-Ser) positioned between the lipid and peptidemoieties. These data support the proposition that the usefulness of thelipopeptides is not limited to any specific amino acid sequence beingused as the immunizing antigen.

Lipids Other than Pam₂Cys are Useful in the Lipopeptide Constructs

Groups of BALB/c mice (6-8 weeks old) were inoculated subcutaneouslywith 20 nmoles of the peptide immunogens shown in FIG. 7, comprising thelipid moieties Pam₂Cys; Ste₂Cys; Lau₂Cys; or Oct₂Cys conjugated to theamino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 9 (i.e. a peptide comprisingthe CDV-F T-helper epitope of SEQ ID NO: 24 conjugated to LHRH 2-10 asset forth in SEQ ID NO: 3, with an internal lysine residue positionedbetween these epitopes), for both primary and secondary vaccinations.Peptide structures are shown in FIG. 7. All lipopeptides wereadministered in saline. The non lipidated peptides was administered inCFA as a control. Sera were obtained from blood taken at 4 weeksfollowing the primary vaccination and 2 weeks following the secondaryvaccination.

Data shown in FIG. 8 indicate that strong primary and secondary antibodyresponses can be obtained when the Pam₂Cys moiety is substituted foranother lipid moiety in the lipopeptide constructs.

Different Spacers can be Used to Separate Lipid from Peptide in theLipopeptides

Groups of BALB/c mice (6-8 weeks old) were inoculated subcutaneouslywith 20 nmoles of the peptide immunogens shown in FIG. 7, comprising thelipid moiety Pam₂Cys conjugated to the amino acid sequence set forth inSEQ ID NO: 9 and separated therefrom using a spacer consisting of aserine homodimer, arginine homodimer or 6-aminohexanoic acid. Peptidestructures are shown in FIG. 7. All lipopeptides were administered insaline. The non lipidated peptides was administered in CFA as a control.Sera were obtained from blood taken at 4 weeks following the primaryvaccination and 2 weeks following the secondary vaccination.

Data shown in FIG. 9 indicate that strong primary and secondary antibodyresponses can be obtained when the Pam₂Cys moiety is separated from thepeptide moiety in the lipopeptide constructs using a variety ofdifferent spacers.

The Lipid Moiety can be Attached to an Internal Lysine Residue withinthe T-Helper Epitope

To determine the stringency of a requirement for positioning of theinternal lysine residue to which the lipid moiety is attached, we alsostudied the immunogenicity of a lipopeptide construct wherein the lipidwas attached to an internal lysine residue within the T-helper epitope.Groups of BALB/c mice (o weeks and 4 weeks old) were inoculatedsubcutaneously with 20 nmoles of the peptide immunogens comprising thelipid moiety Pam₂Cys conjugated to the amino acid sequence set forth inSEQ ID NO: 9 between the T-helper epitope and B-cell epitope, oralternatively, conjugated to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ IDNO: 103 at position Lys-14 within the T-helper epitope. Peptidestructures are shown in FIGS. 7 and 10. All lipopeptides wereadministered in saline. The non lipidated peptide was administered inCFA as a control. Sera were obtained from blood taken at 4 weeksfollowing the primary vaccination and 2 weeks following the secondaryvaccination.

Data shown in FIG. 11 indicate that strong antibody responses areobtainable using lipopeptides wherein the lipid moiety is attached toeither position, suggesting that strict placement of the internal lysineand, as a consequence, the lipid moiety, is not essential toimmunogenicity.

Discussion

In this study we describe the assembly of a variety of lipopeptideimmunogens composed of a CD4⁺ T cell epitope, the self peptide LHRHwhich includes one or more B cell epitopes and Pam₃Cys or Pam₂Cys.

Without placing any strict requirement on the need for approximatecentral positioning of the lipid, we found that the solubility of theresulting vaccine was greatly improved by placing lipids in theapproximate centre of the peptide immunogen between the T cell epitopeand LHRH instead of at the more usual position at the N-terminus. Aclear solution in saline at the concentration required for inoculationcould easily be obtained with these branched structures. In contrast,the immunogens in which the lipid was coupled at the N-terminus wereless soluble, giving a cloudy or opalescent solution in saline.Investigation of the antibody responses and subsequent fertility trialsindicated that the water-soluble lipopeptides induced higher antibodytitres 4 weeks after the primary inoculation and were also moreefficient in preventing pregnancy than were the less solublelipopeptides where lipid was attached to the N-terminus. A water-solubleself-adjuvanting vaccine has clear advantages over partially soluble orinsoluble material allowing for simplification of the manufacturingprocess and also more accurate metering of dose.

Investigations into the stringency of a requirement for positioning thelipid moiety indicated that some flexibility is possible, since antibodyresponses were also observed in immunized animals when the lipid waspositioned within the T-helper epitope, rather than between the T-helperepitope and the B-cell epitope.

Investigations into the effects of varying the lipopeptide doseindicated that Pam₂Cys-containing lipopeptides are better immunogensthan are Pam₃Cys-containing peptides. However, other lipidopeptides werealso useful in generating strong antibody responses, such as, forexample, Ste₂Cys-containing lipopeptides, Lau₂Cys-containinglipopeptides, and Oct₂Cys-containing lipopeptides.

We found in the present study that insertion of two serine residues ortwo arginine residues between the lipid moiety and the peptide sequenceincreased the potency of the resulting Pam₂Cys-containing immunogens.When lipid is attached to the N-terminus, the two serine residues couldeither be acting as an inert spacer between the lipid and the peptidesequence or as an extension of the T helper cell epitope and perhapsmodulating immunological activity. In those cases where lipid is coupledto the epsilon-amino group of a lysine residue at the centre of themolecule, the two serine residues or two arginine residues are acting asa spacer, because the inert spacer, 6-aminohexanoic acid achievedsimilar results.

We also found that the immunogenicity of lipopeptide constructs was notdependent upon the specific amino acid sequence of the T-helper epitopeor the B-cell epitope used, indicating general utility of the approachtaken to producing a wide range of lipopeptides against differentantigenic B-cell epitopes and in a number of different animal hosts.

It is understood that macrophages are stimulated by microbial productswhich bind to cell surface receptors; the signal resulting from thisbinding event is transmitted via Toll-like receptors and results in theproduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. These receptorsare also present in populations of DC, and, when engaged, transmitsignals for cellular maturation and migration as well as for theproduction of molecules required for efficient antigen presentation.

The various synthetic lipopeptide vaccines used in this study were foundto induce the up-regulation of class II MHC molecules, a marker used toassess DC maturation, on the surface of immature DC. In contrast, thenon-lipidated peptide construct was unable to cause maturation of DCindicating that the lipid moiety is responsible for the effect. Thehierarchy of lipopeptide-induced maturation of DC reflects the hierarchyof immunogenicity exhibited by the peptide constructs implies that theability of the vaccine to interact with and induce maturation of DCleads to a better immune response, possibly by increasing the efficiencyof CD4⁺ T cell priming by DC that have been signalled to mature andmigrate to the draining lymph node.

The lipopeptides can trigger an immune response in the absence ofadditional adjuvant and can therefore be delivered by non-parenteralroutes. We therefore investigated the antibody response followingintranasal inoculation of Pam₂Cys-containing peptides. The resultsobtained here showed that intranasal inoculation of[Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser)-[B] or Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser-[Th]-[B] induced lowertitres of systemic anti-LHRH antibody than those induced by inoculationby the subcutaneous route and also that the isotype profiles ofimmunoglobulins were different. Intranasal inoculation of the solublelipopeptide [Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser)-[B] induced higher levels of IgG2band IgG3, but lower levels of IgG1 and IgG2a compared to subcutaneousimmunization. This may indicate that the two routes of immunizationresult in the induction of somewhat different subsets of T cellsproviding help for antibody production which may, in part, be due to thedifferent populations of DCs encountered at different sites. It may alsoreflect a preference that dendritic cells have for molecules withunusual geometries.

Intranasal inoculation of the water-soluble peptide construct[Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser)-[B] induced significantly higher anti-LHRHantibody titres 4 weeks after the first dose of vaccine than didinsoluble Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser-[Th]-[B]. Fertility trials carried out withthese mice demonstrated that only intranasal inoculation with[Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser)-[B] was able to totally prevent reproduction.Although similar antibody titres were apparent in both groups of micefollowing the second dose of antigen, high titres of antibody were onlyelicited during the primary response to [Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser)-[B].It is therefore possible that for an immunocontraceptive vaccine to beeffective, the time for which high titres of antibody are present is animportant determinant of efficacy.

Taken together, the measurements of antibody titres and the results ofthe fertility trials demonstrate that placement of Pam₂Cys between the Bcell epitope and the T helper epitope, at the approximate centre of atotally synthetic peptide vaccine increases the solubility and also theimmunogenicity of the vaccine. This improved immunogenicity is furtherimproved by the introduction of two serine residues between the lipidand the peptide sequence of these branched peptide vaccines. The findingthat incorporation of lipid, self-adjuvanting moieties into differentpositions of peptide-based vaccines profoundly alters physical,immunogenic and biological properties provides another strategy forsuccessful vaccine design.

EXAMPLE 3 Studies on Lipopeptides Comprising a B Cell Epitope from the MProtein of Group A streptococcus

The effect of Multiple Lipids

To test whether or not immunogenicity of the lipopeptides was dependentupon the number of lipids conjugated to the peptides, and to demonstratethat effective lipopeptides could be formulated against differentantigenic B-cell epitope-containing peptides, we produced lipopeptidescomprising a peptide moiety that comprises the CDV-F P25 T-helperepitope and a Group A Streptococcus B cell epitope J14 (i.e. the peptidemoiety has the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 105), and one or twolipid moieties. The lipoamino acid moiety Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser was added toan internal lysine positioned between the T-helper epitope and theB-cell epitope and, in one construct, an additional lipoamino acidmoiety Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser was also added to an N-terminal lysine in theT-helper epitope.

Female outbred Quackenbush mice 4-6 weeks old (15/group) were inoculatedintranasally with 60 μg of peptide-based vaccine in a total volume of 30μl PBS. Mice received three doses of vaccine at 21-day intervals. FecalIgA was determined 6 days following the last dose of antigen. Seven daysfollowing the final dose mice were bled from the tail vein andJ14-specific serum IgG was determined. Indirect bacteriocidal assayswere also performed to determine the ability of sera from immunized miceto opsonise or “kill” the M1 GAS strain in vitro. Eight days followingthe final dose saliva was collected from individual mice and the averageJ14-specific salivary IgA antibody titres were determined by standardELISA. Two weeks after the last dose of antigen, mice were challengedintranasally with M1 GAS strain and survival determined at various timepoints afterwards.

Data in FIG. 12 indicate that significant (P<0.05) serum IgG titres wereelicited using either lipopeptide compared to non-lipidated peptides orPBS, indicating that the lipopeptide constructs are not dependent uponthe selecton of T-helper or B-cell epitope, and that lipopeptidescomprising single or multiple lipid moieties can be used to elicit highserum IgG levels following intranasal immunization.

Data presented in FIG. 13 also indicate that sera collected from miceimmunized with J14-containing lipopeptides having one or two lipidmoieties were also capable of significant (P<0.05) killing of GAScompared to sera collected from animals immunized with controlnon-lipidated peptides or PBS.

Data presented in FIG. 14 indicate that mice inoculated J14-containinglipopeptides having one or two lipid moieties had significantly (P<0.05)higher saliva IgA titres than the control groups that were immunizedcontrol non-lipidated peptides or PBS. However, the monolipidatedpeptide was far superior than the bi-lipidated peptide in inducingsaliva IgA levels by intranasal administration.

Interestingly, only mice inoculated with mono-lipidated J14-containingpeptide, wherein the lipid moiety was positioned between the T-helperepitope and the B-cell epitope (i.e., [Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser)-[J14])had significant (P<0.05) faecal IgA titres at 6 days following finalimmunization, compared to PBS or non-lipidated peptide (FIG. 15). Thismay be a consequence of timing, since fecal IgA was determined beforesaliva IgA or serum IgG levels were determined. Alternatively, it may bea consequence of the intranasal administration route. Other explanationscannot be excluded at present.

As shown in FIG. 16, mice inoculated with mono-lipidated J14-containingpeptide, wherein the lipid moiety was positioned between the T-helperepitope and the B-cell epitope (i.e., [Th]-Lys(Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser)-[J14])also demonstrated the best survival following intransal challenge withGAS, compared to the bi-lipidated peptide or non-lipidated peptide.However, some protective immunity was conferred by both the bi-lipidatedpeptide and non-lipidated peptide compared to the J14 peptide alone orPBS.

In summary, the data presented in Examples 2 and 3 indicate that thelipopeptide formulations of the present invention are broadly applicableto inducing strong antibody responses in animals, particularly murinemodels, with a variety of T-helper epitopes and B-cell epitopes.Additionally, the lipopeptide formulations are particularly suited tointranasal administration, since strong IgG and IgA responses areobtained by this route. However, our data indicate that, at least forJ14 immunogens, mono-lipidated peptides may serve as better mucosaladjuvants than lipopeptides comprising multiple lipid moieties.

EXAMPLE 4 Studies on Lipopeptides Comprising a B Cell Epitope fromGastrin

The immunogenicity of lipopeptide immunogens based on gastrin wasdetermined. Female BALB/c mice were inoculated subcutaneously in thebase of the tail with 20 nmoles of peptide or lipopeptide immunogens.All lipopeptides were administered in PBS and the non-lipidated peptideswere administered in CFA. Saline emulsified with CFA was used as anegative control. The peptides used were Gastrin-17 (sequenceEGPWLEEEEEAYGWMDF; SEQ ID NO: 113); [P25]-Lys-[PentaGastrin] (SEQ ID NO:110) in which PentaGastrin is the C-terminal sequence GWMDF ofgastrin-17 (i.e., SEQ ID NO: 102); and[P25]-Lys(Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser)-[PentaGastrin]. 4 weeks after immunisationsera was obtained from the animals and at the same time they received asecond similar dose of antigen. Mice were bled a second time a further 2week after the second dose of antigen and antibodies capable of reactingwith the peptide gastrin-17 sequence determined in ELISA.

As shown in FIG. 17, mice inoculated with Gastrin-17 in CFA containedlevels of anti-Gastrin-17 antibodies equivalent to the negative controlof Saline in CFA. While immunisation with the non-lipidated peptide[P25]-Lys-[PentaGastrin] elicited very low levels of anti-Gastrin-17antibodies, mice challenged with the lipopeptide[P25]-Lys(Pam₂Cys-Ser-Ser)-[PentaGastrin] demonstrated high antibodytitres similar to that elicited after immunisation with the peptide inCFA. These data again illustrate that the lipopeptide formulations ofthe present invention are broadly applicable to inducing strong antibodyresponses in animals, with a variety of T-helper epitopes and B-cellepitopes.

1. A lipopeptide comprising a polypeptide conjugated to one or morelipid moieties wherein: (i) said polypeptide comprises an amino acidsequence that comprises: (a) an amino acid sequence of a T helper cell(Th) epitope and an amino acid sequence of a B cell epitope, whereinsaid amino acid sequences are different; and (b) one or more internallysine residues or internal lysine analog residues for covalentattachment of each of said lipid moieties via an epsilon-amino group orterminal side-chain group of said lysine or lysine analog; and (ii) eachof said one or more lipid moieties is covalently attached to the anepsilon-amino group of said one or more internal lysine residues or tothe terminal side-chain group of said one or more internal lysine analogresidues.
 2. The lipopeptide of claim 1 wherein the lipid is attached tothe epsilon-amino group of a lysine residue.
 3. The lipopeptide of claim1 wherein the internal lysine residue to which the lipid moiety isattached is positioned between the Th epitope and the B cell epitope. 4.The lipopeptide of claim 1 wherein the internal lysine residue to whichthe lipid moiety is attached is positioned within the Th epitope.
 5. Thelipopeptide of claim 1 comprising two lipid moieties.
 6. The lipopeptideof claim 5 wherein a first internal lysine residue to which a firstlipid moiety is attached is positioned between the Th epitope and the Bcell epitope and a second internal lysine residue to which a secondlipid moiety is attached is positioned within the Th epitope.
 7. Thelipopeptide of claim 1 wherein the lipid moiety has a structure ofGeneral Formula (VII):

wherein: (i) X is selected from the group consisting of sulfur, oxygen,disulfide (—S—S—), and methylene (—CH₂—), and amino (—NH—); (ii) m is aninteger being 1 or 2; (iii) n is an integer from 0 to 5; (iv) R₁ isselected from the group consisting of hydrogen, carbonyl (—CO—), andR′—CO— wherein R′ is selected from the group consisting of alkyl having7 to 25 carbon atoms, alkenyl having 7 to 25 carbon atoms, and alkynylhaving 7 to 25 carbon atoms, wherein said alkyl, alkenyl or alkynylgroup is optionally substituted by a hydroxyl, amino, oxo, acyl, orcycloalkyl group; (v) R₂ is selected from the group consisting ofR′—CO—O—, R′—O—, R′—O—CO—, R′—NH—CO—, and R′—CO—NH—, wherein R′ isselected from the group consisting of alkyl having 7 to 25 carbon atoms,alkenyl having 7 to 25 carbon atoms, and alkynyl having 7 to 25 carbonatoms, wherein said alkyl, alkenyl or alkynyl group is optionallysubstituted by a hydroxyl, amino, oxo, acyl, or cycloalkyl group; and(vi) R₃ is selected from the group consisting of R′—CO—O—, R′—O—,R′—O—CO—, R′—NH—CO—, and R′—CO—NH—, wherein R′ is selected from thegroup consisting of alkyl having 7 to 25 carbon atoms, alkenyl having 7to 25 carbon atoms, and alkynyl having 7 to 25 carbon atoms, whereinsaid alkyl, alkenyl or alkynyl group is optionally substituted by ahydroxyl, amino, oxo, acyl, or cycloalkyl group and wherein each of R₁,R₂ and R₃ are the same or different.
 8. The lipopeptide of claim 7wherein X is sulfur; m and n are both 1; R₁ is selected from the groupconsisting of hydrogen, and R′—CO—, wherein R′ is an alkyl group having7 to 25 carbon atoms; and R₂ and R₃ are selected from the groupconsisting of R′—CO—O—, R′—O—, R′—O—CO—, R′—NH—CO—, and R′—CO—NH—,wherein R′ is an alkyl group having 7 to 25 carbon atoms.
 9. Thelipopeptide of claim 8 wherein R′ is selected from the group consistingof: palmitoyl, myristoyl, stearoyl, lauroyl, octanoyl, and decanoyl. 10.The lipopeptide of claim 9 wherein R′ is selected from the groupconsisting of: palmitoyl, stearoyl, lauroyl, and octanoyl, and decanoyl.11. The lipopeptide of claim 7 wherein the lipid is contained within alipoamino acid moiety selected from the group consisting of: Pam₂Cys,Pam₃Cys, Ste₂Cys, Lau₂Cys, and Oct₂Cys.
 12. The lipopeptide according toclaim 11 wherein the lipoamino acid moiety is selected from the groupconsisting of Pam₂Cys, Ste₂Cys, Lau₂Cys, and Oct₂Cys.
 13. Thelipopeptide according to claim 11 wherein the lipoamino acid moiety hasthe structure of Formula (II):


14. The lipopeptide of claim 1 wherein the lipid moiety has thefollowing General Formula (VIII):

wherein: (i) R₄ is selected from the group consisting of: (i) analpha-acyl-fatty acid residue consisting of between about 7 and about 25carbon atoms; (ii) an alpha-alkyl-beta-hydroxy-fatty acid residue; (iii)a beta-hydroxy ester of an alpha-alkyl-beta-hydroxy-fatty acid residue;and (iv) a lipoamino acid residue; and (ii) R₅ is hydrogen or the sidechain of an amino acid residue.
 15. The lipopeptide of claim 1 wherein alipid of the lipopeptide moiety is separated from a peptide moiety ofthe lipopeptide by a spacer.
 16. The lipopeptide of claim 15 wherein thespacer comprises arginine, serine or 6-aminohexanoic acid.
 17. Thelipopeptide of claim 15 wherein the spacer consists of a serinehomodimer.
 18. The lipopeptide of claim 15 wherein the spacer consistsof an arginine homodimer.
 20. The lipopeptide of claim 15 wherein thespacer consists of 6-aminohexanoic acid.
 21. The lipopeptide of claim 1wherein the internal lysine or internal lysine analog is nested within asynthetic amino acid sequence having low immunogenicity.
 22. Thelipopeptide according of claim 1 wherein the T-helper epitope is aT-helper epitope of influenza virus haemagglutinin or a T-helper epitopeof canine distemper virus F (CDV-F) protein.
 23. The lipopeptide ofclaim 22 wherein the T-helper epitope of influenza virus haemagglutinincomprises the an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1 or SEQ IDNO:
 18. 24. The lipopeptide of claim 23 wherein the T-helper epitope ofinfluenza virus haemagglutinin comprises the amino acid sequence setforth in SEQ ID NO:
 1. 25. The lipopeptide of claim 22 wherein theT-helper epitope of CDV-F protein comprises an amino acid sequence setforth in SEQ ID NO:
 24. 26. The lipopeptide of claim 1 wherein the Bcell epitope is from an immunogenic protein, lipoprotein, orglycoprotein of a virus.
 27. The lipopeptide of claim 1 wherein the Bcell epitope is from an immunogenic protein, lipoprotein, orglycoprotein of a prokaryotic organism.
 28. The lipopeptide according toclaim 27 wherein the B cell epitope is from the M protein of Group Astreptococcus.
 29. The lipopeptide of claim 28 wherein the B cellepitope comprises an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 101.30. The lipopeptide of claim 1 wherein the B cell epitope is from animmunogenic protein, lipoprotein, or glycoprotein of a eukaryoticorganism.
 31. The lipopeptide according to claim 30 wherein theeukaryotic organism is a parasite.
 32. The lipopeptide according toclaim 30 wherein the eukaryotic organism is a mammal.
 33. Thelipopeptide according to claim 32 wherein the B cell epitope is from apeptide hormone of the mammal.
 34. The lipopeptide according to claim 33wherein the peptide hormone is a digestive hormone or a reproductivepeptide hormone.
 35. The lipopeptide according to claim 34 wherein thedigestive hormone is gastrin or pentagastrin.
 36. The lipopeptideaccording to claim 35 comprising an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQID NO: 102 or SEQ ID NO:
 113. 37. The lipopeptide according to claim 34wherein the reproductive hormone is luteinising hormone-releasinghormone (LHRH) or a fragment thereof.
 38. The lipopeptide according toof claim 37 comprising the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 2or SEQ ID NO: 3 or SEQ ID NO:
 4. 39. The lipopeptide of claim 1 whereinthe polypeptide comprises an amino acid sequence selected from the groupconsisting of: (SEQ ID NO: 5) (i) GALNNRFQIKGVELKSEHWSYGLRPG; (SEQ IDNO: 7) (ii) GALNNRFQIKGVELKSKEHWSYGLRPG; (SEQ ID NO: 9) (iii)KLIPNASLIENCTKAELKHWSYGLRPG; (SEQ ID NO: 13) (iv)KLIPNASLIENCTKAELKGLRPG; (SEQ ID NO: 103) (v)KLIPNASLIENCTKAELHWSYGLRPG; (SEQ ID NO: 104) (vi)KLIPNASLIENCTKAELGLRPG; (SEQ ID NO: 105) (vii)KLIPNASLIENCTKAELKQAEDKVKASREAKKQVEKALEQLEDKVK; (SEQ ID NO: 106) (viii)KLIPNASLIENCTKAELKKQAEDKVKASREAKKQVEKALEQLEDKVK; (SEQ ID NO: 107) (ix)GALNNRFQIKGVELKSKQAEDKVKASREAKKQVEKALEQLEDKVK; (SEQ ID NO: 108) (x)GALNNRFQIKGVELKSKKQAEDKVKASREAKKQVEKALEQLEDKVK; (SEQ ID NO: 109) (xi)KLIPNASLIENCTKAELGWMDF; (SEQ ID NO: 110) (xii) KLIPNASLIENCTKAELKGWMDF;(SEQ ID NO: 111) (xiii) GALNNRFQIKGVELKSGWMDF; and (SEQ ID NO: 112)(xiv) GALNNRFQIKGVELKSKGWMDF.


40. The lipopeptide of claim 1 capable of upregulating the surfaceexpression of at least an MHC class II molecules on immature dendriticcells (DC).
 41. The lipopeptide of claim 40 wherein the DC are D1 cells.42. A lipopeptide comprising a polypeptide conjugated to one or morelipid moieties wherein: (i) said polypeptide comprises an amino acidsequence that comprises: (a) an amino acid sequence of a T helper cell(Th) epitope and an amino acid sequence of a B cell epitope, whereinsaid amino acid sequences are different; and (b) one or more internallysine residues for covalent attachment of each of said lipid moietiesvia an epsilon-amino group of said one or more lysine residues; (ii)each of said one or more lipid moieties is covalently attached to theepsilon-amino group of said one or more internal lysine residues; and(iii) said lipopeptide has the general Formula (VI):

wherein: epitope is the T-helper epitope or B-cell epitope; A is eitherpresent or absent and consists of an amino acid spacer of about 1 toabout 6 amino acids in length; n is an integer having a value of 1, 2,3, or 4; X is a terminal side-chain group selected from the groupconsisting of NH, O and S; Y is either present of absent and consists ofa spacer of about 1 to about 6 amino acids in length, wherein saidspacer comprises arginine, serine or 6-aminohexanoic acid; and Z is alipoamino acid moiety selected from the group consisting of Pam₂Cys,Pam₃Cys, Ste₂Cys, Lau₂Cys, and Oct₂Cys.
 43. The lipopeptide of claim 42wherein A is absent.
 44. The lipopeptide of claim 43 wherein the B cellepitope comprises the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 2 orSEQ ID NO: 3 or SEQ ID NO:
 4. 45. The lipopeptide of claim 43 wherein:(i) the B cell epitope comprises the amino acid sequence set forth inSEQ ID NO: 101; (ii) Y is present and consists of a serine homodimer;and (iii) Z consists of Pam₂Cys.
 46. The lipopeptide of claim 45 whereinthe T helper epitope comprises an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQID NO: 24 and wherein the lipid moiety is attached to the polypeptidevia the epsilon-amino group of a lysine residue within SEQ ID NO: 24.47. The lipopeptide of claim 45 wherein the lipid moiety is attached tothe polypeptide via Lys-14 of SEQ ID NO:
 24. 48. The lipopeptide ofclaim 43 wherein: (i) the B cell epitope comprises the amino acidsequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 102; (ii) Y is present and consists ofa serine homodimer; and (iii) Z consists of Pam₂Cys.
 49. The lipopeptideof claim 42 capable of upregulating the surface expression of at leastone MHC class II molecules on immature dendritic cells (DC).
 50. Thelipopeptide of claim 49 wherein the DC are D1 cells.
 51. A method ofproducing a lipopeptide comprising: (i) producing a polypeptidecomprising an amino acid sequence that comprises: (a) an amino acidsequence of a T helper cell (Th) epitope and an amino acid sequence of aB cell epitope, wherein said amino acid sequences are different; and (b)one or more internal lysine residues or internal lysine analog residues;and (ii) covalently attaching each of one or more lipid moietiesdirectly or indirectly to an epsilon-amino group of said one or moreinternal lysine residues or to a terminal side-chain group of said oneor more internal lysine analog residues so as to produce a lipopeptidehaving the lipid moiety attached to the epsilon amino group of saidinternal lysine residue or having the lipid moiety attached to theterminal side-chain group of said internal lysine analog residue. 52.The method of claim 51 wherein the polypeptide is synthesized by achemical synthesis means.
 53. The method of claim 51 further comprisingproducing the lipid moiety.
 54. The method of claim 53 comprisingsynthesizing the lipid moiety as a lipoamino acid.
 55. The methodaccording to claim 54 further comprising adding a spacer to an aminoacid moiety of the lipoamino acid.
 56. The method according to claim 55wherein the lipid comprises an arginine homodimer or a serine homodimeror a 6-aminohexanoic acid.
 57. The method of claim 55 comprising addingthe spacer to the lipoamino acid via a terminal carboxy group in aprocess that comprises performing a condensation, addition,substitution, or oxidation reaction.
 58. The method of claim 55 whereinthe spacer comprises a terminal protected amino acid residue tofacilitate conjugation of the lipoamino acid to the polypeptide.
 59. Themethod of claim 58 comprising de-protecting the terminal protected aminoacid of the spacer and conjugating the lipoamino acid to thepolypeptide.
 60. The method of claim 54 comprising adding a spacer to anon-modified epsilon amino group of the polypeptide in a processcomprising performing a nucleophilic substitution reaction.
 61. Themethod of claim 60 wherein the polypeptide has an amino acid sequencecomprising a single internal lysine or lysine analog residue and ablocked N-terminus.
 62. The method according to claim 60 wherein thelipid comprises an arginine homodimer or serine homodimer or6-aminohexanoic acid.
 63. A composition comprising the lipopeptide claim1 and a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient or diluent.
 64. Thecomposition of claim 63 further comprising a biologic response modifier(BRM).
 65. A method of eliciting the production of antibody against anantigenic B cell epitope in a subject comprising administering thelipopeptide claim 1 to said subject for a time and under conditionssufficient to elicit the production of antibodies against said antigenicB cell epitope.
 66. The method according to claim 65 wherein thelipopeptide is administered intranasally to the subject.
 67. The methodaccording to claim 66 wherein the lipopeptide is administered to thesubject by injection.
 68. The method according to claim 65 comprisingeliciting the production of high titer antibodies.
 69. The methodaccording to claim 65 wherein the antigenic B cell epitope is from apathogen and wherein said method comprises generating neutralizingantibodies against the pathogen.
 70. The method according to claim 65further comprising producing a monoclonal antibody against the antigenicB cell epitope.
 71. A method of inducing infertility in a subjectcomprising administering to said subject a lipopeptide comprising apolypeptide conjugated to one or more lipid moieties, wherein: (i) saidpolypeptide comprises: (a) the amino acid sequence of a T helper cell(Th) epitope and the amino acid sequence of a B cell epitope of areproductive hormone or hormone receptor, and wherein said amino acidsequences are different; (b) one or more internal lysine residues orinternal lysine analog residues for covalent attachment of each of saidlipid moieties via an epsilon-amino group of said internal lysine or viaa terminal side-chain group of said internal lysine analog; and (c) eachof said one or more lipid moieties is covalently attached directly orindirectly to an epsilon-amino group of said one or more internal lysineresidues or to a terminal side-chain group of said one or more internallysine analog residues; and (ii) said lipopeptide is administered for atime and under conditions sufficient to elicit a humoral immune responseagainst said antigenic B cell epitope.
 72. The method of claim 71wherein the lipopeptide is administered in combination with apharmaceutically acceptable excipient or diluent.
 73. The method ofclaim 71 wherein a secondary immune response is generated against the Bcell epitope sufficient to prevent oogenesis, spermatogenesis,fertilization, implantation, or embryo development in the subject. 74.The method according to claim 71 wherein antibody levels are sustainedfor at least a single reproductive cycle of an immunized female subject.75. The method according to claim 71 wherein the B cell epitope isderived from the amino acid sequence of luteinising hormone-releasinghormone (LHRH).
 76. The method of claim 75 wherein the B cell epitopecomprises an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 2 or SEQ ID NO:3 or SEQ ID NO:
 4. 77. The method according to claim 71 wherein theT-helper epitope comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ IDNO: 1 or SEQ ID NO:
 24. 78. The method according to claim 71 wherein thelipid moiety comprises a lipoamino acid selected from the groupconsisting of: (i) Pam₂Cys; (ii) Ste₂Cys; (iii) Lau₂Cys; and (iv)Oct₂Cys.
 79. The method according to claim 71 further comprisingproducing the lipopeptide.
 80. The method according to claim 71 furthercomprising determining the antibody level in a sample taken previouslyfrom the subject.
 81. The method according to claim 71 furthercomprising determining the fecundity of the subject.
 82. A contraceptiveagent comprising the lipopeptide claim 1 wherein the B cell epitope isfrom a reproductive hormone or hormone receptor.
 83. A contraceptiveagent comprising the lipopeptide according to claim
 44. 84. Use of thelipopeptide according to claim 44 in the preparation of a contraceptivereagent for reducing fertility in an animal subject.
 85. A method ofinducing an immune response against a Group A streptococcus antigen in asubject comprising administering to said subject a lipopeptidecomprising a polypeptide conjugated to one or more lipid moieties,wherein: (i) said polypeptide comprises: (a) the amino acid sequence ofa T helper cell (Th) epitope and the amino acid sequence of a B cellepitope of a Group A streptococcus antigen, and wherein said amino acidsequences are different; (b) one or more internal lysine residues orinternal lysine analog residues for covalent attachment of each of saidlipid moieties via an epsilon-amino group of said internal lysine or viaa terminal side-chain group of said internal lysine analog; and (c) eachof said one or more lipid moieties is covalently attached directly orindirectly to an epsilon-amino group of said one or more internal lysineresidues or to a terminal side-chain group of said one or more internallysine analog residues; and (ii) said lipopeptide is administered for atime and under conditions sufficient to elicit a humoral immune responseagainst said antigenic B cell epitope.
 86. The method of claim 85wherein the lipopeptide is administered in combination with apharmaceutically acceptable excipient or diluent.
 87. The method ofclaim 85 wherein a secondary immune response is generated against the Bcell epitope sufficient to prevent the spread of infection by a Group Astreptococcus and/or reduce morbidity or mortality in a subjectfollowing a subsequent challenge with a Group A streptococcus.
 88. Themethod of claim 85 wherein the B cell epitope is derived from the aminoacid sequence of the M protein of Group A streptococcus.
 89. The methodof claim 88 wherein the B cell epitope comprises the amino acid sequenceset forth in SEQ ID NO:
 101. 90. The method of claim 85 wherein theT-helper epitope comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ IDNO: 1 or SEQ ID NO:
 24. 91. The method of claim 85 wherein the lipidmoiety comprises Pam₂Cys.
 92. The method of claim 85 further comprisingproducing the lipopeptide.
 93. The method of claim 85 further comprisingdetermining the antibody level in a sample taken previously from thesubject.
 94. A vaccine comprising the lipopeptide of claim 1 wherein theB cell epitope is from the M protein of Group A streptococcus.
 95. Avaccine comprising the lipopeptide according to claim
 45. 96. Use of thelipopeptide according to claim 45 in the preparation of a contraceptivereagent for reducing fertility in an animal subject.
 97. A method ofinducing an immune response against a gastrin peptide in a subjectcomprising administering to said subject a lipopeptide comprising apolypeptide conjugated to one or more lipid moieties, wherein: (i) saidpolypeptide comprises: (a) the amino acid sequence of a T helper cell(Th) epitope and the amino acid sequence of a B cell epitope of agastrin polypeptide antigen, and wherein said amino acid sequences aredifferent; (b) one or more internal lysine residues or internal lysineanalog residues for covalent attachment of each of said lipid moietiesvia an epsilon-amino group of said internal lysine or via a terminalside-chain group of said internal lysine analog; and (c) each of saidone or more lipid moieties is covalently attached directly or indirectlyto an epsilon-amino group of said one or more internal lysine residuesor to a terminal side-chain group of said one or more internal lysineanalog residues; and (ii) said lipopeptide is administered for a timeand under conditions sufficient to elicit a humoral immune responseagainst said antigenic B cell epitope.
 98. The method of claim 97wherein the lipopeptide is administered in combination with apharmaceutically acceptable excipient or diluent.
 99. The method ofclaim 97 wherein a secondary immune response is generated against the Bcell epitope sufficient to prevent or block secretion of gastric acid inan animal in need thereof.
 100. The method of claim 99 wherein theanimal suffers from a condition selected from the group consisting ofhypergastrinemia, Zollinger-Ellison syndrome, gastric ulceration,duodenal ulceration and gastrinoma.
 101. The method of claim 97 whereinthe B cell epitope is derived from the amino acid sequence ofpentagastrin.
 102. The method of claim 101 wherein the B cell epitopecomprises the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:
 102. 103. Themethod of claim 97 wherein the T-helper epitope comprises an amino acidsequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:
 24. 104. The method of claim 97wherein the lipid moiety comprises Pam₂Cys.
 105. The method of claim 97further comprising producing the lipopeptide.
 106. The method of claim97 further comprising determining the antibody level against gastrin ina sample taken previously from the subject.
 107. A vaccine comprisingthe lipopeptide of claim 1 wherein the B cell epitope is from a gastrinpolypeptide.
 108. A vaccine comprising the lipopeptide according toclaim
 46. 109. Use of the lipopeptide according to claim 46 in thepreparation of a contraceptive reagent for reducing fertility in ananimal subject.
 110. The method of claim 65 wherein the antibodycomprises an immunoglobulin selected from the group consisting of IgM,IgA, and IgG.
 111. The method of claim 110 wherein the immunoglobulin isIgM.
 112. The method of claim 110 wherein the immunoglobulin is IgA.113. The method of claim 110 wherein the immunoglobulin is IgG.
 114. Themethod of claim 113 wherein the IgG is selected from the groupconsisting of IgG1, IgG2a, IgG2b, and IgG3.